Yugioh Rv Revelation
by VLAsuka
Summary: Still waiting for her friends, Yuna picks a duel against a powerful duelist. Can her level warriors defeat the strongest tanks in Yugioh? Please read and review! Yugioh Rv Revelation! Chapter 11 - Roll Out!
1. Chapter 1 Swing of Memories

Okay... Hello...

Welcome to my first ever fan fiction. It may or may not be my last. Really depends on how this turns out. So please review if you like this and provide constructive criticism.

In this Yugioh fan fiction, I will follow all real life TCG rules. I do duel in real life as a hobby so I don't expect there to be many mistakes. However it isn't like I have the most experience in the world, so I apologize if I did make one. Also if I were to use anime or manga or OCG (Japanese) cards, they would be explained and mentioned at the bottom of the chapter.

Note: English is in fact not my first language. I am very sorry if there happens to be grammar mistakes but I will try my best to catch them.

I would like to thank the author Cyber Commander, whose stories had inspired me to write this.

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TGC, OCG, anime, or Manga, which are registered trademarks of Konami. I am an independent author not affiliated with Konami, and am not an employee or representative of them

So without further ado, I present to you... **Yugioh RV Revelation!**

* * *

**Chapter 01 - Swing of Memories**

Since the Duel Disks were invented to allow duels to take place anywhere, there is no need for huge arenas. However, there is something different when you fight within the ring of the arena with the crowd all around you cheering and watching your every move. Here is your battlefield, the ring for the duelists. Here is where dreams are fulfilled and hopes are crushed. This is the Pro League.

"Welcome back!" shouted an excited announcer. "For you folks that are just tuning in back home, it is an epic battle between dragons here at the Pro Leagues. In the lead stand Victor Asuka with 5500 life points and a Felgrand Dragon on the field. Trailing behind with 3100 life points is Angela Kira."

"Recently Victor has just obliterated Angela's field leaving her with nothing but the two cards in her hand. It is now Angela's turn. Will she be able to take the lead?"

**Victor Asuka (5500) – Angela Kira (3100)**

A tall stout man stood, confidently on his spot by the field. He had only one card in his hand, but he seemed to be in full control of the duel. "So, what are you going to do Angela?" Victor asked.

The lady on the other side brushed her sleek black hair aside. "Don't think I am out for the count," Angela said, her intense blue eyes was filled with determination.

"Draw!" She looked at the card she drew and played it without hesitation. "I play the spell card, Trade In. By discard a high level monster, I can draw two cards." She placed a monster in the graveyard. _See you later buddy._

She drew two cards quickly. _Yes! _"I play the spell card, Swing of Memories! With this card, I can bring back a normal monster from my graveyard; and I bring back the card that I just sent to the graveyard." With a swirl of pixels, a fearsome black dragon descended on the field. (2400/2000)

"Oh…Angela brought back her ace card, the Red Eyes Black Dragon!" the announcer exclaimed. "I can smell a comeback."

"Impressive. However, Swing of Memories only last for one turn. Still it is no match for my Felgrand Dragon!" Victor said. His golden dragon roared in approval. (2800/2800)

"Maybe but you should worry more about your life points." She placed a card on her disk. "Inferno Fire Blast!" The Red Eyes Black Dragon took flight, opening its mouth wide. An intense red orb was gathering in size, black tendrils of darkness flowed for its jaws.

"This spell card allows my dragon to affect 2400 points of effect damage straight to your life points!" shouted Angela over the gasps for the crowd.

"Red Eyes Black Dragon! Inferno Fire Blast!" The ebony dragon fired the sphere of destruction down at Victor. He screamed as the attack drained his life points.

**Victor Asuka (3100) – Angela Kira (3100)**

"The scores are tied!" The announcer was gripping his microphone in excitement.

"Nice, but you would have to do better," said Victor, picking himself off the floor.

"My pleasure," Angela smiled. "I am well aware that my dragon will return to the grave at the end of my turn, but before that happen, I will tribute it for this; Come forth, Red Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

The temperature in the room seemed to have drop. A shroud of darkness covered the field. With a blood-curling roar, the gloom was shattered to reveal a pitch black dragon with red streaks down its wings. Its crimson eyes bore down on the opponent on the far end of the arena. Victor was frozen in its glare.

"My darkness dragon gains 300 attack points for every dragon in my graveyard," Angela smirked. "I count seven of my dragons in the graveyard, raising his attack by 2100." The dragon was covered in an aura of shadows as its attack point's rise to 4800.

"Attack! Darkness Giga Flame!" The dark dragon wasted no time in purging the field of the opposing dragon. A torrent of pulsing darkness scorched the golden dragon, reducing it to ashes. Victor dropped on one knee due to the force of the blow.

**Victor Asuka (1100) – Angela Kira (3100)**

"Amazing!" shouted the announcer, over the cheers of the fans. "So this is the true power of Angela Kira, the Red Eyes Maiden!"

"Heh…" Victor stood up. "You sure are stubborn, Angela. I worry that in the end, you're still going to stick to your original decision."

"I guess you will just have to lose and see," Angela said, teasingly.

"You mean I have to win," he corrected.

He placed his hand on his deck. _Come on, Heart of the Cards…_"Draw!"

He briefly looked over his hand. "I play the spell card, Monster Reborn!" The holy ankh floated over the field. "This powerful spell allows me to bring back one monster from any graveyard."

The winds picked up speed, whirling around the two duelists as massive dragon soared into view. Glittering like a star, the golden Felgrand Dragon dropped down onto the field. _(2800/2800) _

"I have nothing to fear," Angela said, bravely. "If I could beat your dragon once, I could do it again."

"Not quite. This time around things are different," Kai told her. "Life is never endless. In the end, we will grow old and die. But we can give rise to the next generation. You and I, we might be the best there is now, but watch…Our children, the children of the next generation would always be better. No matter how hard we try, the next generation would always find ways to best us."

"When my Felgrand Dragon is reborn, I can take one monster from my graveyard and equip it to him. My Felgrand Dragon gains 200 attack points for every level that it has."

"What…monster…did you pick?" Angela asked, softly.

Victor smiled. "Look."

Felgrand Dragon threw its head back and roared at the ceiling in defiance. Rays of light burst around it, covering it with a halo of radiance. Angela could see what looked like the spirit of a huge bladed dragon behind it.

_Armed Dragon Level 10? _She was amazed. _That was the monster he used to take down my Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 8…_

_Level 10… That means that his Felgrand Dragon gains 2000 attack points!_

The announcer was amazed as well by the turn of events. "Looks like Victor is ready for battle! His Felgrand Dragon matches Angela's Red Eyes Darkness Dragon point for point! This is the final showdown, folks. Don't blink now!"

Victor placed a card into his disk. A facedown card appeared behind his golden dragon. "One card facedown. Your move." _I guess this is how it is going to end._

Angela eyed the situation, carefully. _At the moment, our dragons are tied. It is too risky to just commit kamikaze. I need to tip the scales in my favor._

"Draw!" She gazed at the card she got and couldn't believe her luck. For a moment, she wondered whether or not she should play it. _No…I promised him to give it my all. I wouldn't disappoint him._

"I activate the spell Mystic Spell Typhoon!" Angela declared. "The ability of Felgrand Dragon has one weakness; I could get rid of it just like any other spell or trap."

The howling winds tore away Felgrand's radiant aura, reducing his attack points back to 2800.

"Sorry," Angela said, her voice filled with regret. "I guess you would have to wait for the next Pro League."

"Darkness Gaia Flame!" The dark dragon obeyed its mistress's orders, without question. A surge of dark flames rushed towards the golden dragon. The crowd held their breath. Is this the end?

Victor chuckled. "Too bad. Patient is not exactly one of my stronger points."

"Trap card. Activate!"

Angela's eyes opened in shock. _Then his Felgrand's ability was just a decoy…_

"Roar of Pride!" A purple card with a picture of two battling monsters rose. Victor explained the effect.

"This powerful trap card will cost me 1000 life points, but my dragon gains attack points until it has 300 more attack points than your Darkness Dragon!"

Felgrand Dragon fired back a flood of white flames against the attack of the Red Eyes. The two attacks clashed together, light versus darkness. With one final push, the luminous blaze smoldered the field, destroying the dark dragon.

**Victor Asuka (100) – Angela Kira (2800)**

The crowd was speechless. But soon afterwards, it cheered in approval. As the applause and cheers rang throughout the stadium, Yuna recovered from her shock. She smiled and waved her hand, signifying the end of her turn.

"What a magnificent play by Victor Asuka!" said the announcer. "It seems that this duel would be drawing to a close. Victor, it is your move."

Victor drew a card, but didn't bother to look at it. "Felgrand Dragon, attack with Flames of Redemption!" The golden dragon heeded the command and blew a stream of golden flames at the female duelist. She did nothing but smiled as she took the blow. As she fell to the ground, she was still smiling.

**Victor Asuka (100) – Angela Kira (0)**

"At the end of one fearsome and titanic duel, may I present you; Victor Asuka, King of the Pro League!" Cheers erupted around the stadium again as the announcer announced the result of the duel.

Victor paid no attention to the applause as he rushed over to the fallen figure on the other side of the arena. Reaching her, he bended over and picked her up, holding her body in his arms. Her eyes were closed but a serene smile remained on her face.

"Angela?" he muttered.

She opened her blue eyes and stared deep into his.

"So, I wonder if you are going to stick to our promise." He said, grinning. "Do I have your hand in marriage?"

She blushed. "I thought I only promised that I would think it over."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. He held her even tighter as she wrapped her arms around him. The two stayed locked in embrace, even as the crowd gasped and whistled.

Finally they broke free, their eyes still locked together.

"I guess that would be a yes," Victor said.

Angela said nothing, but replied with another kiss.

* * *

"Well, it seems that Arthur is back into a dangerous corner," the announcer said, describing the situation. "His opponent, the dangerous Max Luther currently has a Spiral Serpent on his field with an unbeatable 2900 attack points. He is in the lead with 5900 life points. Arthur however, has only a Mirage of the Nightmare on the field and one card facedown. He also has four cards in his card thanks to Mirage of the Nightmare. But he only has 2000 life points. It doesn't seem like he would survive till next turn to use them."

Max flexed his arms, impatiently and chuckled. "Seems like this in the end of the road for you. See good bye. Spiral Serpent! Attack!" The sea serpent raised its long neck and sprayed a torrent of water at the man on the other side of the field.

Arthur smiled. "It's not time to throw in the towel just yet. I activate Emergency Provision!"

"Oh yes, the classic Mirage of Nightmare and Emergency Provision combo…" the announcer commented. "By sending the Mirage of Nightmare to the graveyard, Arthur would be able to gain 1000 life points and at the same time, avoid the drawback of Mirage of Nightmare."

**Arthur Ceres (3000) – Max Luther (5900)**

"But that still wouldn't be able to stop my attack!" shouted Max.

Arthur was knocked onto his back by the strength of the blow. But he got up quickly. He was still in this duel.

**Arthur Ceres (100) – Max Luther (5900)**

"Why don't you just give up?" Max asked, glaring at his opponent. "You're not the King of Games, or some legend of the past. The Heart of the Cards wouldn't help you."

Arthur didn't say anything but merely scowled.

Max chuckled again. "I place one card face down. Let's see what you can do." _If he even tries to attack, I have my Mirror Force set and ready for him._

Arthur drew wordlessly. After carefully looking over his hand, he turned his gaze at Max.

"You were right. I am no King of Games, no Yugi Muto or Jaden Yuki." He said, "But I believe that he Heart of the Cards isn't something that only they process. As long as a duelist believes in his deck, he wouldn't be disappointed."

He looked at a certain spell card in his hand. It was one given to him by a friend. He added it to his deck as a token of their friendship but this would be the card that saves him.

"I active the spell card, Swing of Memories!" Arthur announced, "For this turn only, I can special summon one normal monster from my graveyard. Return Queen's Knight!" A female knight in red armor appeared on the field. _(1500/1600)_

"She is nowhere strong enough to beat my monster," said Max.

"True," agreed Arthur. "But she is not alone. I summon King's Knight!" An older knight in orange armor stood beside the female knight. _(1600/1400)_

"That's not all. When both knights are on the field at the same time, I get to special summon Jack's Knight from my deck!" A tall blue knight stepped onto the field. _(1900/ 1600)_

"A powerful array of monsters but none stands capable to defeat my Spiral Serpent," Max commented.

"I still have this to play," said Arthur. "The spell card, Polymerization!"

"With it I will fuse, my three knights to call forth the master of cards… Arcane Knight Joker!" The three knights vanished into three beams of light. Merging together, a new warrior stepped onto the field. He wielded a mighty blade and a set of royal armor. This was certainly one joker that would wasn't here to crack jokes. _(3800/2500)_

"Arcana Knight Joker, Attack his Royal Flush Slash!" Arthur shouted, without hesitation. The armored knight rushed forward, brandishing his great war blade.

"HA HA HA!" Max laughed. "You fell right into it. I activate my trap card, Mirror Force!" A crystal barrier rose up around the Spiral Serpent.

"Oh…" the announcer moaned. "A powerful comeback by Arthur but still he charged in recklessly without considering the trap that his opponent place."

"Not quite," replied Arthur. He held up one card in his hand. It was also a trap card. "My Arcana Knight Joker has a special effect. When he is targeted by any effect, I can discard a card with the same type to negate your effect. So I discard my Draining Shield in order to destroy your Mirror Force."

The knight slashed through the barrier. As the shards of crystal fell to the ground, the warrior charged again, cutting off the head of the great sea serpent.

**Arthur Ceres (100) – Max Luther (5000)**

"Seems like I have jumped the gun there," said the announcer. "Yet, while Arthur has the control over the field, Max still stands with 50 times more life points than Arthur."

_That's right. _Max thought. _I have Hammer Shot and Brain Control in my hand. Next turn, this duel is mine!_

"Don't get too relaxed there, Max." Arthur remarked. "I still have one card left. I play De-Fusion!"

_De-Fusion! _Max involuntarily took a step back.

The three royal knights returned to the field. _(1500/1600) (1600/1400) (1900/1600)_

"Wait…" Max murmured. "Stop…"

"Jack Knight! Queen Knight! King Knight! Attack with Royal Straight Slash!" cried Arthur.

The three knights rushed forward. With a furious battle cry, they slashed the man in unison, knocking him off his feet.

**Arthur Ceres (100) – Max Luther (0)**

"Against such overwhelming odds, the king of the Round Table, Arthur Ceres has claimed victory!" The crowd applauded at the outcome of the duel.

Arthur stepped off the arena waiting for the next match to be called. He walked over to the step lines, approaching a woman watching him attentively.

"Did I worry you, Faye?" Arthur asked.

His wife smiled. "No, I believed that you would have won."

"Well, pray for me during the next battle." Arthur said, holding her hand, "It's the final duel."

"I wish you luck as well," a woman said. "You would need it."

"She's right," Faye said. "After all you are fighting her husband, Victor Asuka."

Angela Asuka smiled. "So you actually used the card I lend you."

"Yea," said Arthur said. "It surprised me too. Thank you, Angela."

"No problem," said Angela.

A message blared over the loudspeakers. "May Arthur Ceres please report back to the arena for the start of the final match."

"Good luck," Angela said.

"Good luck, honey." Faye gave Arthur a quiet peek on his cheek. He smiled and walked under the spotlight at the left end of the field.

The announcer cleared his throat and began to introduce the next round. "Here stands the challenger, Arthur Ceres! Holding the powerful card knights, he remains undefeated in 10 consecutive matches. He has risen above all others in order to face the top of the Pro League, our king, Victor Asuka!"

Smoke bellow from the other end of the arena as the fans cheer and chanted the name of the top duelist. "Victor!" "Victor!" "Victor!"

Suddenly a dragon roar ringed throughout the stadium as a figure stepped out of the smoke, his tail coats flapped elegantly in the air. Victor smiled at his opponent and stood underneath his own spotlight.

"Very dramatic entrance," Arthur remarked.

"I had to try to impress my special somebody over there," Victor waved at Angela, who waved back lovingly.

"I guess Faye came too, huh?" said Victor, spotting her next to his wife.

"Yea," said Lance. "I told her not to, due to the state that she was in, but I guess she doesn't watch to miss the sight of this."

"You're going to be a father," said Victor. "Congratulations!"

"You too," Lance chuckled. "I heard from Faye that Angela is pregnant too."

"Aww." Victor said, "I was hoping to surprise you."

"Well, what are you going to name your kid?" Arthur asked.

"Not telling," Victor smirked. "But maybe a duel would loosen my lips."

Lance laughed. "Just like old times, huh?"

"That's right." Victor said, activating his duel disk.

"Duel!"

* * *

"Hi!" A short smiling boy with messy black hair and blue eyes greeted a silent boy of his own age. He handed out his hand, "My name is Kai Asuka. Nice to meet you."

The other boy was a bit shy but testily he shook the boy's hand. "I'm Lance Ceres."

"Cool. Well since your dad and my mom are still talking, let's play a game," suggested Kai.

"What?" asked Lance.

"Duel Monsters!" shouted Kai, eagerly. His grin seemed to split his mouth in too.

Lance was caught by his glee and grinned as well.

"Ok!" He took a deck box out of his pocket and started to shuffle his deck.

Kai did the same. "I got some new cards that I am just dying to try out."

"I just created this deck," Lance said. "I can't wait to see how it goes!"

Both duelists placed their decks on the table. "Get your game on!"

* * *

"What an amazing turnout in this year's Pro League Tournament," the announcer said. "This is quite a remarkable event, even in my long 20 years career. This year, we have two talented first timers in the final matches. Fresh from the Duel Academies, we present to you: Musashi Kenshi and Paris Troy!"

Fans cheered and applauded as the two rivals headed up to the arena. Musashi walked past the crowd stonily as Paris took his time waving and greeting his fans.

A little girl with black pigtails poked out her hand out of the crowd, waving her hand wildly, "Good luck, ni-san!"

Musashi reached over and patted her on the head, "Thanks, Yuna."

Paris stopped his own little admirer as well. He reach over to hold her little soft hands.

"Good luck, brother!" the little girl with brown hair said.

"Don't worry, Eliza," he said. "Your big brother is not going to let you down."

Musashi and Paris ascend the steps of the arena. With a nod to each other, they separated and headed to their respective positions.

"Graduating from East Duel Academy is Musashi Kenshi! While he might seem a bit quiet, this guy is a battle expert and not one to take lightly. With a simple glance of the field, he can calculate the success of every move and know exactly when to strike. Everyone be on you guard in front of this swordmaster!"

"Hailing from the West Duel Academy is Paris Troy! Quite popular with his fans and the ladies, this guy is not just all talk. Once on the battlefield, he duels with the ferocity of a beast. Nothing can stand in his way. Move aside for the gladiator!"

"Seems like you were right. We can't avoid this at all," Paris said, running his hand through his hair.

"Only one of us can move on," commented Musashi.

"May the best duelist win!" Paris shouted.

Musashi smiled. "Duel!"

* * *

"Duel!"

"Divine Dragon Excelion, attack with Divine Flame Burst!" shouted Kai. A sliver dragon with a blazing azure aura blew a stream of irony flames at the opponent's Luster Dragon.

**Kai Asuka (3300) – Drake Lewis (2600)**

"Have enough yet, Draco?" Kai smirked. "Because my dragon isn't done. I can attack again since I just destroy one of your monsters in battle." The divine dragon fired a fireball at the Draco, knocking him off his feet.

**Kai Asuka (3300) – Drake Lewis (100)**

"I place one card facedown," Kai said. "Your move, Drake."

The other students were now on the edge of the seats, watching attentively to every move of the two Oblisek Blue duelists. This was the graduation duel for their year. This year's ace, Drake Lewis has chosen Kai Asuka, the second in line, as his opponent. Both duelist has built up quite a reputation as dragon duelists and many times, they had clashed over whose strategies were better. This was going to be the match that settles it all.

Drake chuckled as he picked himself off the ground. "It is a pity. I wonder where I am going to find such a rival after I enter the Pro Leagues."

"Don't worry. I am going to catch with you soon," said Kai.

"We will see about that," Drake smirked. "I activate the spell card, Trade – In, by discarding a high level monster like my Tyrant Dragon, I can draw two cards."

He quickly made two draws. "I summon Spear Dragon in attack mode." A winged dragon with a long spear like nose appeared on the field. _(1900/0)_

"In attack mode…" muttered Kai. _What is he up to? He can attack with that… Unless it is just here for a sacrifice!_

"Next, I play Monster Reborn!" The divine ankh hovered into view. The audience stared upwards in wonder. Kai knew what was coming. _And when it does, I will spring my trap!_

A conflagration blossomed in front of Drake. The head of the dragon with an embed gem appeared and snatch up the Spear Dragon, gulping it down whole.

"Sadly, I would have to give up a dragon as a sacrifice for my mighty dragon but it is worth it. Come forth, Tyrant Dragon!" The grand dragon bellowed boldly. _(2900/2500)_

"Tyrant Dragon, attack Blaze of Pride!" Drake directed his monster. The great dragon reared back and blew a surge of flames at the silver dragon.

"Too bad, Drake." Kai smiled, "I active my trap, Sakuretsu Armor!"

Drake laughed, "Have you forgotten, Kai? My Tyrant Dragon is not affected by trap cards." The flames barreled through the invisible barrier and flooded the divine dragon. In a matter of seconds, it was turned into ashes.

**Kai Asuka (2900) – Drake Lewis (100)**

"There is more, Kai." Drake continued, "Just like your Divine Dragon Excelion, I can attack once more!" Kai braced himself for the attack, but the flood of flames washed over him and left him lying on the ground.

**Kai Asuka (0) – Drake Lewis (100)**

The audience all stood and applauded, despite the lost of one of their classmates. It was a fabulous fight and both duelists gave it their all. It was truly a match to see.

Drake walked over to his fallen rival and reached out, offering his head. Kai took it firmly and pulled himself up.

"On day, I will find you," He muttered so that only Drake could hear him. "I promise on that day, we will have one final duel. On that day, I will have surpass your level.

Drake smiled. "That will be a day that I look forward to."

* * *

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-

The hand finally found the button on the alarm. The hand brushed pass sometimes, knocking into the floor as it retreated under the covers. With a groan the body shifted over and pulled the pillow over his head. It was way too early to wake up.

On the floor lied a formal invitation, it read:

**To Kai Asuka,**

**Due to your success in the East Duel Academy, Kaiba Corporation would like to invite you for the Neo Battle Tournament that would be held right here in Domino City. This tournament would be a chance of a lifetime, allowing you to meet new duelists and dueling for the grand prize. If you are interested, please register at the nearest registration center near you by August 8****th****. We will see you there, as we duel for the stars!**

**May the Games Begin!**

* * *

_Do you remember that swing in the playground that you always go to when you are little?_

_That swing that you were just dying to try every day, no matter how many times you did yesterday?_

_The one that made you feel like flying and touching the sky?_

_Do you remember the last time you swung on that swing?_

_Do you know why you stopped?_

_Was it because you have grown up?_

_Have you outgrown these childish toys?_

_The swing is still there._

_Waiting for you._

_But you don't want to step back._

_Don't want to remain in your memories._

_Then, let go._

_Step forward._

_Into the future._

_And reach for the sky once more._

* * *

Roar of Pride

Trap Card

Activate only during the Battle Phase. Select a monster you control and a monster your opponent controls. If the ATK of your selected monster is lower than the ATK of your opponent's selected monster, you can pay Life Points equal to the ATK of your opponent's selected monster. During damage calculation only, your selected monster gains ATK equal to the difference in ATK + 300.

This card was released in the OCG pack, Crossroads of Chaos. This pack will also be released for TCG in the near future.

Note: In the anime, this card had a slightly different effect. In episode 5 of 5D, Jack played it by only paying 1000 life points as opposed to the 3500 which was the attack points of Stardust Dragon at the time. I didn't know this at the time so I just used the anime card's effect.

* * *

So what do you think? Do you see a future in this fan fiction or will it just fall flat?

I have the second chapter done already so please review and comment!


	2. Chapter 2 The Calm Before the Storm

Thank you for your reviews. I will try my best to fully complete this story.

* * *

**Chapter 2 - The Calm before the Storm**

_Do you know that it is always the quietest before the beginning of a storm?_

_The waves are quiet, fueling the might of the storm._

_The birds are quiet, fleeing before the storm hits._

_The winds are quiet, gathering to power the storm._

_The people are quiet, watching as the storm comes…_

Siegfried Kaiba stood in front of the hordes of people who were waiting for the start of the tournament. Behind him was Kaibacorp, the tallest and most immense building in Domino City; it easily towered over the other buildings in the city. It was an outward symbol of his company's power. Each hour, he would make millions from people playing Duel Monsters on his holographic system. Who says you can't make money off a children's card game?

Kai sauntered to the front of KaibaCorp, and looked around. There was already a huge crowd of people surrounding the foot of the building.

"Hey, Kai! Over here!" someone shouted. He whirled around and saw his friend, Lance, waving at him.

"Hey Lance. What sup?" Kai said, as he walked over to his friend.

"I should have known you were going be late," Lance said, remembering the numerous times that his friend had been tardily.

"Sorry. I was too busy prepping my deck," Kai said, sheepishly.

"So do you think you're ready?" Lance asked, dismissing the excuse.

Kai shrugged. "Who knows? We played minor tournaments before, but this is on a whole new level. Who knows what kinds of duelists we will meet here?"

Lance nodded in agreement. "Hey look! It is about to start."

Siegfried found a microphone and turned towards the crowd. The chatter ceased. "Listen up, you duelists. I would go over the rules once more just to clarify. I don't want to have any trouble during this tournament."

"Each duel would be a one on one duel with 8000 life points each. In order to advance through the tournament, obviously you would have to duel. Your duel bracelet is a duel counter consisting of seven stars. These stars represent each attribute: fire, water, wind, earth, light, dark with the seventh circle representing the divine attribute. This divine light has a special requirement but we would get back this later."

"Everyone starts with just one star lighted. If you win a duel, you gain one point and one more star is lighted. If you lose a duel, you lose a point and one of your stars is dimmed out. If you all your stars are dimmed, you are eliminated. On the other hand, if all seven stars are lit, you are eligible to enter the finals of the tournament. However we would only accept the first eight duelists. Yet once the first eight are selected, you may still continue to collect all seven stars. If you do so before the tournament ends, you will be given a consolation prize. The top prize would be announced during the beginning of the finals."

Siegfried paused to make sure that everyone was listening, "Unlike the original Battle City, there is no ante rule, so don't worry about losing your rarest card. I also hope everyone looked over the official rulebook and followed the ban lists. As mentioned on the day you register, forbidden cards can not be played and unregulated mod duel disks are not allowed. Foul play is also not acceptable. I have my own highly skilled special task force around and they are rather strict with the rules. No excuses would be accepted. You would be brought to me at once and my decision would be your verdict."

Making sure that people understood the sternness of the matter, he continued, "On a darker note, there are also hired duelists in the tournament: known as the Eliminators." The word made the crowd silent and a bit uneasy. "Unlike a normal duel against the Eliminator, you are forced to wager all your lights. Thus if you lose you are disqualified. However if you win, you do get a nice extra prize for your efforts. It could be a card or something else. Yet don't keep your hopes up to high, these Eliminators are top duelists and many are rather cruel in their methods. It might be best just to avoid them. However I will not just give you that liberty. The central circle of your duel bracelet, the divine light, would only light up if you defeat an Eliminator in a duel. If you can't duel with everything on the line, then get out of here now. My tournament doesn't need duelists like you. "

The crowd stirred amongst themselves. Some were pumped ready for the new challenge while others were nervous about their future run-in with an Eliminator.

"With that said, I would like to welcome you all to the start of the Neo Battle City Tournament! Have fun and duel well." Siegfried finished his speech off by shouting, "May the games begin!"

Cheers and applause followed the end of his speech as duels disks powered up ready to start the duels.

"So who do you think we should duel first?" Lance asked.

"I don't know," Kai answered. "Everyone here seems so intense."

A scream made up their minds. The two ran over to see what was going on. A large crowd had already formed around the incident. With a bit of pushing, the two managed to make their way to the front.

The duel was already over. A teenage girl, no older than the boys was the victor. She wore a short skirt and a tight t-shirt and stood arrogantly, smirking at her fallen opponent. Her duel bracelet held two stars. Her opponent lied there, trembling. His duel bracelet was dimmed, signifying that he was eliminated from the tournament.

"Scram, trash. You're finished," She said, fixing her blond hair.

Kai could hear the people in the crowd murmuring, "She's a beast." "She finished him in just five turns." "She had it all planned out." "That guy stood no chance."

The girl was not satisfied with her victory and turned toward the crowd. "Now, how will be the next little snack for my monsters?" She pointed her finger at the crowd.

The mass of people drew back as her finger passed them. Only Kai and Lance stood in their place. The girl smiled and pointed directly at Kai, "How about you? You seem delicious enough for my monsters."

"Me?" Kai asked, looking for a way out of this.

"Yes, you. Come feed my little pets," she said, beckoning him to come.

Lance whispered into Kai's ears, "It would be rude not to accept such a challenge, especially from a girl."

"That's easy for you to say," Kai muttered. "She looks like she is going to eat me alive and still hungry for enough for seconds."

"Are you ready?" the girl yelled, impatiently. "I don't have all day you know. There are more chumps out there that I have to get through."

"Fine," Kai said, activating his duel disk.

"It's time to duel!"

**Kai Yamato (8000) – Rebecca Ven (8000) **

"Well, ladies first," Kai said, drawing five cards from his deck to form his opening hand. "And if you don't mind introducing yourself?

"At least you are a gentleman. My name is Rebecca Ven, the name of the duelist that is going to kick you out of this tournament!" she said as she began her turn. "I summon Flying Kamakiri # 1 in attack mode." A green winged insect stood on the field. _(1400/900) _

"I end my turn," said Rebecca.

"My move," Kai drew a card. _Flying Kamakiri… So I am up against a wind deck. Nothing too bad. But I am having a bad feeling about this. _"I summon Masked Dragon in attack mode." The red and white dragon flew onto the field. _(1400/1100) _

"Attack her Flying Kamakiri!" Masked Dragon obeyed the command and bit the winged insect. The insect bit the dragon as well and both monster burst into pixels.

"Since they both have the same attack points, they were both destroyed. However both effects activate. I get to summon a dragon while you get to summon a wind monster," Kai picked out a card from his deck. "Come out, Divine Dragon Excelion!" A ferocious sliver dragon descended onto the field, its azure aura burned fiercely. _(1500/900) _

Rebecca played her own monster. It was another Flying Kamakiri # 1 _(1400/900)_

"Since it is since my battle phase, my Divine Dragon can still attack." The Divine Dragon blew a breath of flame that burned the insect down to a crisp.

**Kai Yamato (8000) – Rebecca Ven (7900) **

"My Flying Kamakiri's effect activates again and I get to summon the true star of my deck." Rebecca placed the new monster on her disk, "Meet Harpie Lady!" The half bird, half women landed on the field with a screech. _(1300/1400) _

"A Harpie Ladies deck?" Kai said, ending his turn. "Those cards are becoming way too popular ever since Mai Valentine used them."

"Perhaps but trust me, I am not just a copier. I have made this deck way more deadly," Rebecca said, looking over her hand. "First off, these are not the effect version of the Harpie Lady. These are the original normal copies."

"What? But the effect types are way more useful than the normal ones," Lance said.

Kai frowned. _She is up to something. Things are about to get rough._

Rebecca laughed, "You are about to see. But first, I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Rebecca grinned at her new cards.

"I equip my Harpie Lady with Cyber Shield to boost her attack points by 500." Harpie Lady laughed as the new metallic armor was strapped on to her. _(1800/1400)_

"Now she is stronger than Excelion," said Lance.

"That is not just the plan. I summon another Harpie Lady." Another Harpie Lady, identical except with orange hair appeared. _(1300/1400)_

"Also I activate the spell card, Elegant Egotist to special summon my third Harpie Lady from my deck." A Harpie Lady with blue hair stood with the other Harpies. _(1300/1400)_

"She got three Harpies now. Kai is in big trouble," Lance said.

"That's for sure. I play Delta Attacker. If I have three normal monsters with the same name, they can attack you directly for this turn!" Rebecca stated.

Kai's eyes widened as the three Harpies descended upon him. The crowd shouted as he got knocked down by the vicious attack.

**Kai Yamato (3600) – Rebecca Ven (7900) **

"Kai!" Lance shouted.

Shakily, Kai picked himself up. _This blonde isn't stupid at all. Another hit like that and I am finished._

Rebecca laughed, "Ready for some more hurting? My move is not over yet."

"For the coup de crème of my plan, I play the spell card known as Feather of a Phoenix. By discarding one card from my hand, I get to return one card from my graveyard to the top of my deck." Rebecca picked out on card from her graveyard slot and slips it on the top of her deck.

_Gee. I wonder what that card is. _Kai thought, sarcastically. _I bet it is Delta Attacker._

"Oh my god! It is Delta Attacker!" Lance shouted.

Kai shouted, "Yes! I kind of know that already."

"My turn is not quite done yet. I will set one card facedown." Rebecca concluded, placing her remaining card in her disk. The back of the card appeared in the spell and trap zone. "Now, it is time for your last move." Rebecca laughed wildly.

_My facedown is Negate Attack. If he tries to attack, it would stop him. Next turn I would draw Delta Attacker again and victory would be mine. _Rebecca stopped herself from laughing too much. _This guy is hopeless._

Kai paused before he drew his next card. _That facedown has to be something to block my attacks. That way next turn, she can activate Delta Attacker. This must have been how she beaten her first opponent so quickly. I can't lose this duel or else I am kicked from the tournament. I need something that can get rid of those Harpies._

"You friend is toast. There is no way he can turn this around," A person said to Lance.

Lance shook his head, stubbornly, "Come on, Kai! You can do it!"

Kai nodded. _My dragons…Let's win this together._

He drew and added the card to his hand. _Time to see if I am right…_

"Divine Dragon Excelion, attack a Harpie Lady without the Cyber Shield." The Divine Dragon hurled a blue fireball at the winged beast.

"Not quite. I activate Negate Attack." The trap card rose in front of the Harpies, blocked the attack. "So much for that attempt," Rebecca smirked.

Kai picked two cards from his hand. "I place a monster facedown and set one more card facedown as well."

"Look's like it is my move." Rebecca drew without looking at her card, knowing what it already was. "This is the end for you."

"I play Delta Attacker." The three Harpies flew into the air. In a triangle formation, they circled the field and dove into a nosedive at Kai.

The crowd held their breath.

"Kai, do something!" Lance yelled.

"There is nothing he can do!" Rebecca yelled, "It is over!"

Suddenly, a violent blue flame rose in the air and caught the airborne Harpies. With a scream, they crashed into the ground and burned into ashes.

The entire crowd stared in disbelief. Rebecca was even more shocked. "How?...How did you?"

Kai smiled and pointed to his trap card. "This was the card that I drew last turn. Burst Breath. By tributing my Excelion, I can destroy all face up monsters on the field with less defense points that his attack, which is every one of your Harpies."

"Alright! You go Kai!" Lance shouted. "I never doubted you for a second."

Kai looked over at him, "Oh really?"

Lance shrugged, "Okay. Maybe for just one second."

"Whatever," Kai said. "Now it is my turn. I summon Mirage Dragon." A yellow dragon appeared from the mist. _(1600/600) _"Also I flip over my facedown monster. Come out, Axe Dragonute." A black armored dragon wielding a mighty battleaxe appeared. _(2000/1200)_

"That last move left you wide open. You have no card on the field or in your hand. It's playback time!" Mirage Dragon blew a burst of flames as Axe Dragonute brought his axe down with a furious swing. Rebecca screamed as the attacks hit her.

**Kai Yamato (3600) – Rebecca Ven (4300) **

"Since I just attacked with my Axe Dragonute, he switches to defense mode. But he does have some defense points so I am not that worried." The black dragon kneeled down. "It is your move," Kai said.

_No…I can't lose… I don't want to lose…I won't lose. _Rebecca got back up. "You think you WON? Well think again because I am taking you down!" she yelled angrily.

Quickly she pulled a card from her deck. "I active Swords of Revealing Light!" Glowing blades fell from the sky and pinned Kai's dragons down. "My spell card stops you from attacking for three turns."

"Now that was one lucky draw," Kai murmured. _I might as well take this time to get ready. _"I switch my Axe Dragonite back to attack mode." The black dragon stood up.

"I summon my second Masked Dragon." A small red and white dragon appeared. _(1400/1100)_ "I also place two cards facedown."

Desperately, Rebecca drew a card from her deck. _No! No! No! Useless!_ "I end my turn."

_She is taking this time to renew her hand and come back with a new attack. _Kai thought as he drew a card_. _"I place one more card facedown and end my turn."

_Please…please…please _Rebecca drew a card. "Yes! I set one card facedown and I activate the spell card Mirage of a Nightmare." A green card with a picture of zombies and a person screaming appeared in front of Rebecca. "My turn is over."

_Mirage of a Nightmare? I had seen this combo before._ Kai drew a card.

"Now my Mirage of Nightmare activates. On your standby phase, I get to draw four cards." Rebecca drew four cards from her deck. "Normally I would have to discard them during my standby phase but not if I activate this card, Emergency Provisions." A mouth opened up and gobbled the Mirage of a Nightmare. "Not only do I gain 1000 life points from Emergency Provisions but I get to keep my four cards."

**Kai Yamato (3600) – Rebecca Ven (5300) **

"She got her hand back together, Kai. You better watch out," Lance warned.

_What else does she have pack in that deck? _Kai thought. _The two cards that any Harpies Duelist should have, she should have them. _

"I sacrifice my Masked Dragon to summon Divine Dragon Excelion!" The red and white dragon disappeared into sprinkles of light as the sliver dragon soared onto the playing field. _(1500/900) _

"1500 attack points for one tribute…?" Rebecca laughed. "And here I thought that dragons are supposed to be tougher than this."

"Appearance could be quite deceiving." Kai smirked.

"When I summon my Divine Dragon, it gets one effect for every other Divine Dragon Excelion in my graveyard." he explained. "Remember one is already in my graveyard, due to Burst Breath."

"And one of these effects is the ability to raises my dragon's attack points by 1000."

The dragon roared and its aura doubled in size. _(2500/900)_

"I am ready for whatever you got. Bring it on!" Kai cried.

"That's what you think." Rebecca replied. "I play the field card, Harpies' Hunting Ground!" The ground became a barren steppe, bare of all trees. Kai could see circling figures in the air; no doubt they were Harpies waiting to swoop down on their prey.

"These are hunting grounds of the Harpies and you are the prey." said Rebecca. "I summon the queen of these plains, Harpie Queen!" With a dramatic whirlwind, an elegant blue winged beast soared into the playing field. _(1900/1200)_

"First off, my field card raises my Harpie Queen's attack and defense points by 200 points." _(2100/1400)_

"Also since this is a hunting ground, every time I summon a Harpie Lady or Queen, I can destroy one trap or spell card on the field." The Harpie Queen dived down and crashed Kai's facedown Sakurestsu Armor into pieces.

"Too bad. Sakurestsu Armor could have saved you from this attack. Go my Harpie Queen! Attack his Mirage Dragon!" The winged queen lunged downwards and slashed through the dragon with her razor claws.

**Kai Yamato (3100) – Rebecca Ven (5300) **

"I place two cards facedown and end my turn," Rebecca said, confidently. _Time to unleash the true power of my deck._

_She attacked even through_ _her Harpie Queen can't defeat my Divine Dragon Excelion. The two facedown must be a trap. _Kai thought. _But what choice do I have other than attacking?_

"Divine Dragon! Attack his Harpie Queen!" The silver dragon charged at Harpie Queen.

"I activate my trap! Call of the Haunted!" Rebecca shouted. "Return, my Harpie Lady!" A winged lady with red hair dived down and destroyed another of Kai's card. A Dragon's Rage burst into pixels. _(1300/1400) – (1500/1600)_

"What is that going to do for you? Another Harpie just means another monster for my dragons to finish off," Kai said.

"Having another Harpie allows me to play this, Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation!" The two Harpies flew next to each other and gathered a burning aura. Excelion was forced to stop its attack.

"Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation. I should have known," Kai murmured. _The question is does she have the other one?_ "Alright, I place one more card facedown. It is your move."

"Kai, what is the point of setting cards? Her field card got them totally pinned down," Lance said.

"That little brat got a point. I summon another Harpie Queen." Another winged queen plunged down and pounded through another of Kai's facedown. A card with an image of a frying pan disappeared. _(1900/1200) – (2100/1400)_

"Too bad your Mystic Wok is gone because it could have saved you from this attack. I play my most powerful spell card, Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!"

The three Harpies soared into sky. As they began their descent, they seem to catch on fire, the air seem to burn as they dive downward. A fiery phoenix bound to wipe out the last of Kai's life points.

"This time there is no escape!" Rebecca yelled. "For each Harpies I control, I can destroy one of your monsters and deduct its attack points from your life points."

Lance was busy doing the math. "Let's see. She has three Harpies, so she can destroy up to three of Kai's monster. Kai only has two. One has 2000 attack points and the other one has 2500 attack points. Together…that is 4500 attack points. Kai is finished!"

The fiery phoenix thundered down and collided on Kai's side of the field, sweeping a wall of blazing flames on the site of impact. Kai screamed as the fire coursed through his body.

"It's over. I won," Rebecca said. She looked at her duel bracelet, expecting a change. It remained at two stars.

"What?" she asked. "Is this thing broken already?"

"Nope, I am just not finished yet."

She turned around. Kai still stood standing. His field was clear but his life points didn't reach zero yet.

**Kai Yamato (1100) – Rebecca Ven (5300) **

"You thought that just by destroying my Mystic Wok, that I would be finished," Kai said, smiling. "But no. I had another trap, my Interdimensional Matter Transporter. When I activate it, I get to remove my Divine Dragon Excelion from play until the end of the turn."

"I activated it before your Harpies hit me so I only lose my Axe Dragonute and 2000 life points. Also by activating Harpies Lady Phoenix Formation, you can't attack this turn. My life points are safe," Kai explained.

Lance cheered, "You go, Kai!" The rest of the crowd cheered as well. This guy really managed to turn things around.

Rebecca growled and clenched her fist. _This guy…Who does he think he is...Messing with me!_

"Now it is my turn." Kai said. Divine Dragon Excelion materialized back onto the field. "I play Trade In. I get to draw two cards by discarding one level seven or higher monster." Kai placed one card in his graveyard and drew two cards. "I summon Hunter Dragon!" A small bladed dragon pounced onto the field. _(1700/100)_

"Also in case you were wondering what card I discarded, I will show you. I play Premature Burial. Come forth, Darkblaze Dragon!" The flaming black dragon burst out of the grave with a roar. _(2400/2000) _

**Kai Yamato (300) – Rebecca Ven (5300) **

"It's time for a battle between birds and dragons," Kai said. "Hunter Dragon, take out her Harpie Lady." The dragon slashed through the winged beast.

**Kai Yamato (300) – Rebecca Ven (5100) **

"Divine Dragon, attack her Harpie Queen!" Harpie Queen tried to defend herself but the silver flames turned her to ashes.

**Kai Yamato (300) – Rebecca Ven (4700)**

"Darkblaze Dragon, incinerate her last monster!" The second Harpie Queen was no match for the dark dragon. It was roasted in seconds.

**Kai Yamato (300) – Rebecca Ven (4400)**

"Darkblaze Dragon's effect activates and you lose 1900 life points." A flaming fireball knocked Rebecca down.

**Kai Yamato (300) – Rebecca Ven (2500)**

The crowd roared at Kai's comeback. Lance was cheering loudest of all.

Rebecca stood up slowly. Her body rigid as she held backed her anger. _This guy is unbelievable. I can't lose to him. I won't lose!_

She drew a card from her deck and placed it on her disk, wordlessly. A facedown monster appeared in front of her.

Kai declared his next move, "Darkblaze Dragon, attack." Darkblaze Dragon crushed the facedown monster, revealing that it was a Harpie Girl. Next it blew a small fireball at Rebecca.

**Kai Yamato (300) – Rebecca Ven (2000)**

The small fireball barely made her flinch. She couldn't bear to look at the field anymore. She knew what was going to come.

"Divine Dragon Excelion! Divine Flame Burst!" The silver dragon blew a stream of irony flames at the female duelist, knocking her onto her back.

**Kai Yamato (300) – Rebecca Ven (0)**

The crowd cheered and rushed forward to congratulate the winner. Lance patted Kai's back, "Good job, man!"

Kai smiled and saw his duel braclet now had two lights, one white and one green.

Rebecca got back to her feet, furious and angry at her lost. "This isn't over. I will get my revenge one day!" she screamed before storming off.

"What is up with her? She still has one star left so she isn't kicked out of the tournament," Lance said.

Kai shrugged, "I can't really blame her. I managed to foil her plans twice in the duel and save myself from both her attacks. If I was her, I would be a bit frustrated too." He sighed, "I guess there are just some people that hate to lose."

"You were pretty lucky, Kai. If she held drew another Harpie Queen instead for Harpie Girl, she could have just it to attack your Hunter Dragon and you would have lost," Lance pointed out

Kai shrugged and chuckled, "No point worrying about what could have happened."

"That was intense," Lance said. "If every duelist in this tournament is like that, we might have some trouble."

Kai nodded, "I agree. But don't worry about it. As long as trust in our decks, I am sure that we would make it to the end. And then in the finals, we could have our final duel."

Lance smiled, "That would be an honor."

"Unbelievable. How can I lose to a guy like that? I had him. I had him pinned down. Twice! How did he save himself? And not just once. Twice! He must have been cheating, must have been!" Rebecca fumed loudly. Bumping into someone, she shoved the person out of the way roughly. "Watch where you're going!" she shouted.

She returned to her rant, "That punk. I am going to show him. Next time my Harpies are going to tear him apart!"

"Dueling troubles?"

Rebecca turned around. A man leaned against the alleyway, his black long coat billowed in the wind and his hat covered most of his face. A duel disk was attached to his arm.

"What does that have to do with you?" she shouted. "Mind your own business."

"On the contrary, it is even bit of my business. You see, I am a duelist too as well as a gentleman. I can't help but provide a bit of help for my fellow lady duelist," the man said, smiling underneath his hat.

"Well, I don't think I need the help from the likes of you,." Rebecca replied.

"I beg to differ, my lady." The man continued, "What if I told you I could make you better than the boy you just duel and even better than a whole bunch of other duelists as well?"

Rebecca was interested, "Really?"

"Really," the man said, holding out a card to the girl.

As Rebecca took it, the wind seemed to move on its own and whipped around the two duelists. The man chuckled and began to laugh wildly.

_The storm has come…_

* * *

**Axe Dragonute**

Monster Card

Level 4

Dark/ Dragon/ Effect

2000/1200

If this card attacks, it is switched to Defense Position at the end of the Damage Step.

Note: An OCG only card.

**Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation**

Trap Card

Activate only when your opponent declares an attack and you control 2 or more face-up "Harpie Lady" cards. Negate that attack and end the Battle Phase.

**Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation**

Spell Card

Activate only if you control a face-up "Harpie Lady". Destroy a number of monsters your opponent controls equal to the number of "Harpie Ladys" you control. Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the sum of the combined ATK of the monsters destroyed this way. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase this turn.

* * *

Next up, is Lance's time to shine? What kind of deck do you think he would use?

I will give you a hint. Lance is a big clue.


	3. Chapter 3 Useless

**Chapter 03 - Useless**

_Useless…_

_When a duelist makes a deck, he has a large list of cards to choose from._

_Some cards are bound to be better than others._

_For example Shapesnatch_

_A level five monster with only 1200 attack and 1700 defense._

_There are level three monsters with better stats than that._

_For example A Unfortunate Report_

_A trap that gives your opponent another battle phase._

_Sure, if you want to lose more quickly._

_For example Broken Bamboo Sword_

_A equip card that gives zero attack points._

_What?!_

_Cards like these are just rubbish._

* * *

"Attack!"

A hurricane rushed through her opponent's side of the field. His scream was drowned by the roaring winds. He falls to the ground defeated.

Rebecca Ven laughed madly. This was what true power felt like. She didn't regret her decision. Becoming an Eliminator was much more fun, even if it meant that she can't compete in the rest of the tournament. Crushing every cocky duelist that came at her was all she wanted.

She pulled out three cards from her pocket. They were the original three Harpie Ladies. Normal, 4 star, 1300 attack, 1400 defense.

"Trash," she said, scornfully and flung them away. She walked away, not once looking back at her faithfully cards.

* * *

"See, she isn't that bad," a man said, his long black coat fluttering over the railing as he watched her leave the arena.

A boy next to him nodded. He was a teen, just graduating from Duel Academy. "She is good Eliminator. She got the right attitude."

"She probably would have been fine in the tournament," the man added. "But she had relied too much on her Delta Attacker Strategy."

"Still, of course…" the man grinned, like a fisherman with a big catch.

"She pales in comparison against you, Drake Lewis."

* * *

"So, now it is your turn, Lance." Kai said. "Ready to duel someone?"

Lance looked around. There was a huge flock of duelists in front of him. Some were bravely challenged others to a duel; others were hanging back, hoping to get a good look at the competition first.

"Hey, you!" a voice cried. "How about a duel?"

Lance whirled about and saw a skinny boy pointing at him. His duel bracelet only had one star.

"Um…sure," Lance said. "I was looking for a duel myself."

"Well, the duel came to you," the boy said. "The name is Calvin Bones."

"I am Lance Ceres," said Lance.

"Nice to meet you," Calvin said. "Get ready!"

"En-Garde!" shouted Lance.

**Lance Ceres (8000) – Calvin Bones (8000)**

"You can have the first move, Calvin," said Lance.

"Alright," said Calvin. "Then in that case, I place one monster facedown." The back of a card appeared horizontally in front of Calvin.

"Your move, Lance," said Calvin.

"Okay, I summon the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!" Lance placed the card on his disk and out came an elfin swordsman. _(1400/1200)_

"You know, I always wonder what he did to make him be known as obnoxious," Kai commented.

"Yea, good point," said Lance. "Anyway, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack his facedown card!" The warrior leaped up and stabbed the facedown card. An ugly goblin like zombie was slashed in half.

"Careful, Lance," Kai said. "He is playing a zombie deck. That was his Goblin Zombie, which would allow him to place one zombie from his deck that has less than 1500 defense into his hand.

"That's right, and I pick this one." Calvin took a card out from his deck and showed it to his opponent.

Lance was surprised when he saw what the card was. "Skull Servant…" he muttered, in shock.

"Hey, you should pick up your jaw before it hits the ground," said Calvin. "What is so bad about having Skull Servant?"

"Only that it is probably the weakest monster in the game," said Kai.

"I beg to differ," said Calvin. "The Thousand Eyes Idol has zero attack and defense points."

"Anyway, my move," Calvin said. "I place another monster facedown."

"That's it," he said.

_Only playing defense…He is letting me completely take the field. What is he planning? _Lance drew a card. "Well, I summon another monster, The Trojan Horse!" A wooden horse, much like the one that been to Troy, appeared. _(1600/1400)_

"Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack!" The elf slashed through the facedown card which revealed another Goblin Zombie.

"And so, history repeats itself." Calvin picked out another Skull Servant.

Lance frowned. "Still, you are wide open! The Trojan Horse, attack directly!" The wooden horse rammed into Calvin.

**Lance Ceres (8000) – Calvin Bones (6400)**

"I place one card facedown, and end my turn," Lance said. _He is planning something with those Skull Servants, something that I probably wouldn't like._

"Time to get serious," Calvin said after looking over his hand. "I play the continuous spell card, Call of the Mummy. When I have no monster on the field during my Main Phase one, I can special summon a zombie to the field. So here comes Ryu Kokki!" A large muscular zombie burst from the ground. _(2400/2000)_

"Now I can normal summon a monster, Fear from the Dark!" A spooky shadow emerged to the field onto the field. _(1700/1000) _

"Fear from the Dark, attack his Trojan Horse!" shouted Calvin.

"Activate, trap card! Reinforcements!" Lance yelled. A purple card with a group of armed soldiers appeared. "This trap gives my monster a 500 attack point boost!"

The attack of The Trojan Horse rose to 2100 and it ran over the dark shadow.

**Lance Ceres (8000) – Calvin Bones (6000)**

"Not bad," Calvin said. "But not good enough. Ryu Kokki, attack his Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!" The huge zombie lumbered towards the warrior, striking him with its fist. The elfin swordsman blocked the blow with his sword.

"I might take damage," Lance said. "But, he can't be destroy in battle by monster with attack points of 1900 or over."

**Lance Ceres (7000) – Calvin Bones (6000)**

Much to Lance's surprise, his Celtic Guardian exploded into pixels.

"Looks like you spoke too soon," said Calvin, smirking. "Any warrior or spellcaster that battles with Ryu Kokki is destroyed at the end of battle."

"I am finished now," Calvin said. "Your move."

_Any warrior, huh? _Lance thought. _Time for a change of plans. _

"I tribute my Trojan Horse for Curse of Dragon!" The wooden horse disappeared as a yellow fearsome dragon flew into the field. _(2000/1500)_

"Curse of Dragon…" Calvin muttered. "What an outdated and outclassed card…"

"I don't think you should be talking. You are the one that use Skull Servants in your deck," Kai pointed out.

"True, but I make good use out of them," Calvin replied.

"Well, so do I," said Lance. "I play the magic card, Rush Recklessly to give my dragon 700 more attack points. So it can trump your zombie!" The dragon's attack rose to 2700 as it blew a fiery blaze at Ryu Kokki.

**Lance Ceres (7000) – Calvin Bones (5700)**

"Your turn," Lance said.

"Fine," said Calvin. "You put up a good fight, Lance. Now, I will reveal to you the true nature of my deck. I activate the effect of my Call of the Mummy! Rise, Skull Servant!" A thin old skeleton in a ragged purple cloak rose from the ground. _(300/200)_

"Now, I normal summon my second Skull Servant!" Another skeleton appeared on the field. _(300/200)_

"Here it is, the unstoppable terror of the Skull Servants…" Kai said, sarcastically.

"You are actually quite right," Calvin said. "I activate a spell card, Triangle Power. This gives all level one monster on the field 2000 more attack points!" The skull Servant crackled with energy as their attack power rose to 2300.

"No way…" Lance muttered.

"There has to be some sort of drawback," Kai shouted.

"Oh there is," replied Calvin. "At the end of my turn, the monster affected by this effect will all go to the graveyard. But I am not going to worry about that. Skull Servant, attack his Curse of Dragon!" With a mighty punch, the mangy skeleton crushed the dragon.

**Lance Ceres (6700) – Calvin Bones (5700)**

"Skull Servant, attack him directly!" Lance was knocked down by the skeleton's strength. It was hard to believe that he just got knocked off his feet by the so called weakest duel monster.

**Lance Ceres (4400) – Calvin Bones (5700)**

"And since now I end my turn, my monsters disappears," Calvin said as his Skull Servant fell into dust.

Lance got back on his feet. "Nice move, Calvin but it left you wide open!"

"I play the spell card, Monster Reborn to bring back my Trojan Horse!" The wooden horse returned to the field. _(1600/1400)_

"My Trojan Horse has a special ability, allowing it to count as two tributes for high level Earth monster," Lance explained. "I now sacrifice my Trojan Horse to play the star of my deck, Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

With a roaring battle cry, the majestic knight leaped into sight. He sat up tall upon his mighty horse and wielded two lances. _(2300/2100)_

"All right!" shouted Lance.

"Gaia… the Fierce Knight," said Calvin. "I should have known. Why else would you play Curse of Dragon as well?"

"But this is an interesting choice of cards."

"I could say the same about you, Calvin," Lance said. "Why do you use Skull Servants? Is it just the name, Bones?"

"Well, I guess that does have something with it," Calvin shrugged. "But more importantly, I thought I would be fun to make such an underdog deck. It was just for fun as first but I really got into making it work. I really started to love the feel of winning against people that were so sure that they could beat me. Their faces when I beat them with a Skull Servant are just priceless."

"What is your story? Gaia the Fierce Knight?

"Today's meta game is all playable. Is this card a plus one? Is it worth playing?" Lance said, "I hated that. Everyone look down on cards with weak attack and no effects. What happened to dueling? Where is the fun, if you can not play with the cards you like?"

"I couldn't have said it any better myself," said Kai.

Calvin smiled. "So bring it on! Show me what you got!"

"Gaia the Fierce Knight!" Lance shouted. "Attack with Spiral Spear Strike!" The brave knight charged full speed into Calvin, knocking him to the ground.

**Lance Ceres (4400) – Calvin Bones (3400)**

"I am not giving up on my own deck," said Calvin. "I activate Hand Collapse. Both players will discard two cards and draw two cards." Both players placed two cards into graveyards and made two draws.

"Since I have no monster, I will use the effect of my Call of the Haunted to special summon The Lady in Wight in defense mode!" A lady like skeleton in an evening dress sat reclined in her throne. _(0/2200)_

"I never saw that card before." Lance asked, "Does she have an effect?"

"She does," Calvin nodded. "A useful one. All level three or lower zombies, expect for herself, can't be destroyed in battle and can't be targeted by spell or traps."

"That means his Skull Servants," Kai said.

Calvin chucked. "Skull Servant is _such_ a great card, but I have one that is even better."

"Come forth, King of Skull Servants!" Calvin shouted. The ground tremble as a bony hand broke out of the ground. The zombie looked like a Skull Servant but it was many times bigger. _(3000/0) _

"3000 attack points…" Lance said.

"Careful, Lance," Kai said. "I saw this card before. It gets 1000 attack points for every Skull Servant or King of Skull Servants in the graveyard. Also if you try to destroy it in battle, he can just remove a Skull Servant in his graveyard to bring it back to life."

"Wait a second…" said Lance. "3000 attack points…That must mean he has three Skull Servants in his graveyard but how is that possible?"

"Remember the two cards I discard with Hand Collapse," explained Calvin. "One of them was my third Skull Servant."

"Also my King of Skull Servant is a level one zombie. So my Lady of Wight protects it."

"King of Skull Servant, attack his Gaia!" The skeleton smashed the knight into pieces.

**Lance Ceres (3700) – Calvin Bones (3400)**

."I will avenge you, my knight," Lance murmured.

_I have to get rid of his Lady in Wight but none of my monsters have enough attack. _"I set one monster in defense mode," Lance said. "I end my turn."

"Draw!" shouted Calvin. "I will place this card facedown." The back of a card appeared behind the King of Skull Servants.

"King of Skull Servants, attack!" The king punched through the facedown monster. A female warrior in a ragged clock disappeared.

"That was my Warrior of the Wasteland," Lance said. "When she is destroyed in battle, I can special summon an Earth warrior with less than 1500 attack points." Lance took a card from his deck. "Come on out, Hero Kid!" A kid in a futuristic space suit flew into view. _(300/600)_

"Yet when one Hero Kid is special summoned to the field, I get to summon any another copies that I have. So here comes two more Hero Kids!"

Two identical boys flew in. _(300/600) x2. _The three of them crouched down in defense position.

"Your move, Lance," said Calvin.

"Draw!" Lance looked at the cards in his hand. "I guess I have to pass this turn." _I do have three Hero Kids on the field. They should be enough to block any attack._

"My turn," Calvin said. "I will activate my trap card, Common Charity. This cards allows me to draw two cards." He made two draws. "However I have to remove a normal monster from play or discard my whole hand. Lucky, I can remove my Clown Zombie from play."

"Next, I will summon Dragon Zombie," A half decaying dragon crawled onto the field. _(1600/0)_

"Just if you are wondering, it's level three. So my Lady in Wight protects it," Calvin smirked.

"Now, I play a key part of my strategy, Opti - Camouflage Armor!" He said, "I can only equip this card to a level one monster. So I place it on my King of Skull Servant." A glossy layer of armor blended into the zombie's robes.

"What does it do?" Lance asked.

"Well…" Calvin smiled. "It allows the monster to attack you directly!"

Lance's eyes widen in shock as the King of Skull Servants socked him in the jaw. He cried out as his life points pummeled.

**Lance Ceres (700) – Calvin Bones (3400)**

"Dragon Zombie, take out one of the Hero Kids." The dragon's foul breath destroyed the small warrior.

"I end my turn," Calvin said. "Next turn is going to be your last."

"Lance, don't give up!" Kai shouted.

Lance shook his head, hoping to clear it up. _I can't lose now. I promised to play Kai in the finals._

"Draw!" Lance declared. "I play a spell card, Warrior Returning Alive. This card allows me to add one warrior from the graveyard back to my hand." A beam of light flew back into Lance's hand.

"I will show you who I got back," Lance said. "I tribute my two Hero Kids to summon Gaia, the Fierce Knight!" The valiant knight returned to the battlefield. _(2300/2100)_

"He doesn't stand a chance against my King now," Calvin commented.

"True, but your king isn't the target," Lance said. "I activate Spiral Spear Strike!" A continuous spell card appeared on the field. It had a picture of Gaia, the Fierce Knight on it. "This spell card gives my knight piercing, in other words, the ability to inflict battle damage even if your monsters are in defense mode."

"Gaia, attack Lady in Wight!" With a bone-crushing blow, the knight smashed through the lady skeleton.

**Lance Ceres (700) – Calvin Bones (3300)**

Calvin laughed. "Thank you because you just gave my King of Skull Servant 1000 more attack points." The king's attack rose to 4000.

"When Lady of Wight is in my graveyard, it counts as a Skull Servant," Calvin explained.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn," Lance said.

"While Lance just took out a critical monster in Calvin's strategy, it still doesn't change the fact that Calvin can attack directly next turn," Kai murmured.

"That's right!" Calvin yelled. "King of Skull Servants, attack his life points directly!"

"Go! Trap card!" Lance cried. "Curse of Anubis!" A spooky mist shrouded the field. It engulfed the King of Skull Servants, forcing him to his knees.

"This card allows me to switch all effect monsters into defense mode and reduce their defense to 0. Also they can't switch out of defense position," Lance explained.

"Nice save, Lance!" shouted Kai.

_Now I can't attack with my King… Unless he kills it first, _Calvin thought. _No point putting Dragon Zombie in defense mode, since he has his Spiral Spear Thrust on the field. _

"I end my turn," Calvin said.

"Draw!" shouted Lance. "I equip my knight with Fusion Sword Murasame Blade, which gives him 800 more attack points." The knight brandished his new katana. _(3100/2100)_

"Attack his King of Skull Servant!" The warrior rushed through the skeleton, leaving a pile of bones behind him.

"Remember my Spiral Spear Strike causes you to take the full damage."

Calvin grunted as his life points took a steep fall.

**Lance Ceres (700) – Calvin Bones (200)**

"You forget," Calvin said. "My monster can't be killed in battle. By removing one Skull Servant from my graveyard, I can bring back my King of Skull Servant!" The zombie returned from the grave, glaring at Lance.

"Don't worry, Lance," Kai said. "Every time he does that, his monster would lose 1000 attack points."

Lance nodded. "I place my last card facedown and end my turn."

"I am not giving up, Lance!" Calvin said. "I play the spell card, Foolish Burial. I send another King of Skull Servant to the graveyard to give my King a 1000 attack point boost." The skeleton flexed its arms, ready to battle _(4000/0)_

"Now, it's stronger than Gaia!" said Kai.

"Time for the final blow. King of Skull Servants, attack Gaia the Fierce Knight!" The zombie lunges toward the warrior.

"You are a great duelist," Lance remarked. "To be able to use those cards to such a level…But I have to keep my promise!"

"Go! Trap card!" A purple card with a picture of a Hero Kid on it appeared. "Miracle Kids!"

"For every Hero Kid in my graveyard, your monster loses 400 attack points. That means your King of Skull Servants loses 1200 attack points!" Three Hero Kids rocketed out of Lance's graveyard. Bristling with a purple aura, they charged at the zombie, holding him down. The skeleton scream but couldn't break free from their grip. _(2800/0)_

"Gaia, counterattack!" Lance yelled. "Spiral Spear Strike!" The majestic knight ended the duel with one final charge.

**Lance Ceres (700) – Calvin Bones (0)**

"Way to go, Lance!" Kai shouted.

Lance smiled and walked over to Calvin. He offered him his hand.

Calvin grinned and took in it in a firm shake.

"Well, I can't say I didn't want to win," said Calvin. "Now I'm out of the tournament. But I was glad I lost to someone with more creativity than others."

"Thanks," Lance said. "It was fun. I promise to never look down on a Skull Servant again."

"That's right," Kai said. "It's not about how good the card is. It is about how you use them."

Calvin grinned, "I will cheer for you guys in the finals."

The new friends departed; Kai and Lance, off to seek another challenge and Calvin, waiting for the next tournament to come.

* * *

_Every card has its use, whether it is big or small.  
_

_To some duelists, if there is a better card out there, they would ditch their old cards in a blink of an eye._

_To true duelists, they would play with the cards they cherish, no matter the difficulties._

_A true duelist would not turn away from limitations and flaws._

_But rather learn to work around it and to improve._

_It is the not the cards that matter, rather the duelist holding the cards._


	4. Chapter 4 Strength

Sorry that this took so long. I procrastinated a bit but in my defense this chapter was longer than others. Mainly because it had two duels. That's right. TWO duels.

So, sit back and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 04 – Strength**

_To duelists power could be defined by many ways_

_Strength: the force of the attack_

_Mind: the strategy behind the plan_

_Skill: the insight to plan ahead_

_Heart: the will to never give up_

_However everyone can agree on one thing…_

* * *

Kai and Lance were jubilant over their recent success. Walking down the sidewalk, they planned to celebrate the success of their first duel at a nearby café. As they neared the café, they noticed a large crowd outside. No doubt a duel was taking place.

"Kai? Lance? Is that you?" Kai and Lance turned around when they heard their names. A girl in a white blazer came over to greet them.

"Yuna!" Kai cried, happy to see a familiar face. She was an old friend from their Duel Academy days. However the friendship was hard won. It was during their first year at the Duel Academy, she was an Obelisk Blue but he was a Slifer Red. She was always busy showing off and dueling anyone that got in her way. She was very good and every victory only made her more arrogant and proud until she stumbled upon Kai. He managed to win time after time until finally they called a truce. Kai smiled, nostalgic over their earlier times.

She gave a brief hug to both of them. "It's great to see you guys again. How are you guys doing?

"Fine," Lance said. "Both of us have two stars."

"Me, too!" Yuna smiled, waving her duel bracelet in the air.

"You guys are just in time to see my brother duel!" Yuna said, looking at the two duelists getting ready for their duel.

"Musashi Kenshi," Kai murmured. "I heard he's quite a force to reckon with in the Pro Leagues."

"Don't get cocky, kid!" Max shouted. "You still have years to reach my skill."

Musashi merely raised his eyebrows.

"Duel!"

* * *

**Musashi Kenshi (8000) – Max Luther (8000)**

"I will be generous," Max said. "You can take the first move, kid."

Musashi looked over his hand, stoically. "I place one monster facedown and one card facedown." Two facedown cards appeared on the field, one horizontal and the other vertical.

"Lastly I activate this spell card, Six Samurai United!" A continuous spell card with a picture of six warriors materialized in front of Musashi. "End turn."

"Six Samurai United…" Kai muttered. "What does that do?"

"Is that all?" Max chuckled. "My grandma could make better moves than that."

"I summon Gene Warped Warwolf!" A monstrous four armed beast burst onto the field. _(2000/100)_

"What!" Lance cried. "Is that a four star monster?"

"Yep." Yuna nodded. "It is the strongest four star normal monsters."

"I am not done yet," said Max. "I play a spell card, Ancient Rules. Similar to the old Duelist Kingdom rules, I can special summon a high level normal monster without any cost. Come on out, Frostosaururs! A dinosaur shaped glacier rumbled onto the field. _(2600/1600)_

"Another huge beatstick!" Kai shouted.

"I remember now." Lance said, "Max Luther is a Pro League duelist, known for his ruthless beatdown. He uses normal monster with extremely high attack to overwhelm the opponent."

"Pro League…" murmured Kai. "That means Musashi is in trouble."

"You forgotten," said Yuna. "That my bother is in the Pro League too."

"Scared now?" Max sneered.

Musashi didn't respond to the remark.

The silence infuriated Max. "I will show you fear! Gene Warped Warwolf, attack his facedown monster!" The raging warrior slashed at the facedown card revealing a monkey like solider.

"What monster is that?" Lance asked, puzzled.

"That was my Shien's Footsolider. While he might be weak in terms of attack and defense, he does have a very special ability." Musashi said, as he takes his deck out of its slot. "When he is destroyed in battle, I can special summon one of my Six Samurais from my deck."

"Six Samurais…" said Kai, confused. "Who are they?"

"Come, Six Samurai Yaichi!" A warrior in yellow neon armor appeared on the field. He carried a longbow in his hands. _(1300/800)_

A light lit up on the image of Six Samurai United.

"The Six Samurais are a set of really rare cards. They are the Kenshi's family ace cards." Yuna said. "Our father used them for a while during his time, and now my brother inherited these cards."

"He will not lose."

Max was surprised by the appearance of the new cards but was not worried. _That bowman still has less attack points than my monster._

"Frostosaururs! Trample his bowman!" The titanic dinosaur charged at the archer.

Musashi responded, immediately. "Activate trap card, Waboku."

Yaichi held out his hand and stopped the glacier with a simple barrier.

_He didn't bother activate that card to protect his Shien's Footsolider, because he wanted to search out his Samurai. _Max thought.

"Well, you survive this turn, kiddo. I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Two facedown cards appeared in front of Max.

_I am all ready. With my Justi Break, I can protect monsters from attacks and with my Destruction Jammer, I can protect my monsters from magic and traps._

Musashi drew a card. "I play Giant Turnade." A furious wind whipped across the field. "With this card, I can return all spell and traps cards back to their owner's hand."

The two facedown cards returned to Max's hand. _Darn…_

"Next I summon Six Samurai Kamon!" A warrior wore red armor stood next to Yaichi. He held no weapons in his hands. _(1500/1000)_

Another light lit up on the image of Six Samurai United.

"Now, I activate of my Six Samurai United. Since I have summoned two Six Samurai during the duration of the spell, I can destroy it to draw two cards." The card diminished into pixels and Musashi drew two cards.

"Now it is time to play this, Reasoning!" A card with an image of a man with a deck of cards appeared.

"You can choose one level. I will then discard cards from my deck until I reach a monster. When I do so, if then monster is the level that you choose, I discard it. If not, I can special summon it to the field," Musashi explained.

"I'm not stupid," Max said. "I pick four!"

"Four is the usually number that people pick," Yuna commented. "In a usual deck, most of the monsters would be level four, since they could be played with no tributes."

"However, that might not be the smartest move at times. You might want to pick a high level like seven or eight in order to prevent your opponent from summoning a strong monster," Kai remarked.

Musashi began discarding cards. He held up the monster card that he came up to. "Level three. I summon Six Samurai Yariza." A blue samurai leaped onto the field, swinging his long spear. _(1000/500)_

The three samurais nodded to each other in respect.

"Impressive," said Max. "But I don't see the point in this."

Lance muttered, "What Musashi is trying to do? Win by numbers?"

"That's right," Yuna said.

"What do you mean?" Lance asked.

"The power of the Six Samurai revolves around field advantage. As long as you control a monster, you can control the field," Yuna answered, cryptically. "Watch, you will see."

"Since I have at least one Six Samurai on the field, I can special summon their sensei, Grandmaster of the Six Samurai!" The Six Samurais bowed as an aged stout man walked onto the field. _(2100/800)_

"So you can defeat my warwolf," said Max. "Guess what, my Frostosaururs still stands."

"I am not done," Musashi said. "I can still special summon another monster. As long as I have two Six Samurais on the field, I call forth their greatest leader, Great Shogun Shien!" The Six Samurais kneeled deeply in respect as a muscular red armored man marched onto the field. Brandishing his curved katana, he was certainly not a man to trifle with. _(2500/2400)_

Max couldn't help but shakily take a step back. This was not someone that you want to get mad.

"Woah…" said Lance. "He now has five monsters on the field."

"It's over..." Yuna said.

"How can you tell?" Kai asked. "Max's Frostosaurus is still stronger."

"Notice that my brother still has a card left in his hand," Yuna pointed out.

"Trying to build a wall, huh?" Max said, "You can not hide from me."

"I am not going to hide," said Musashi. "I am going to attack."

"I play the spell card, A Forces!" The continuous spell card came into field, and the warrior shifted into a coordinated battle formation.

"For every warrior or spellcaster on the field, my warriors gain 200 attack and defense points. There are now five warriors. So my warriors gain 1000 points." _(2000/1500) (2300/1800) (2500/2000) (3100/1800) (3500/3400)_

Max noticed that his legs began to tremble.

Kai and Lance were shocked as well.

"This is the united power of the Six Samurais," said Yuna.

Musashi began his assault. "Let me reveal to you the ability of my Six Samurai Yariza. As long I control another Six Samurai, I attack you directly." The blue samurai leaped over Max's hero, stabbing his with his azure spear. Max stumbled backwards.

**Musashi Kenshi (8000) – Max Luther (5800)**

"Kamon, take down his Frostosaurus." The samurai fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a stick of dynamite. Chucking it at the glacier dinosaur, it exploded, taking a chunk out of Max's life points.

**Musashi Kenshi (8000) – Max Luther (5700)**

"Your Gene Warped Warwolf has become an eyesore. Yaichi, eradicate it." A bright arrow sped through the air and shattered the mutant warrior.

**Musashi Kenshi (8000) – Max Luther (5200)**

Max was trembling openly now. Seeing his best monster obliterate in one turn was not the most relaxing experiences.

"I remember you told me it would take years for me to reach your level," said Musashi. "True, it did take me years in order to learn to duel and master this deck. But I have already surpassed you."

"Strength was the one thing you want, so I allow me show you my strength, one that you can never reach." He turned his back on his opponent and muttered a single command, "Finish this."

Without a ferocious battle cry, the shogun and the grandmaster swiftly dispatched Max with two powerful blows from their swords. He screamed as he hit the floor.

**Musashi Kenshi (8000) – Max Luther (0)**

* * *

"One turn kill…" Kai muttered.

"And he took no damage as well," said Lance.

"Perfect victory," Yuna said. "The power of the Kenshi family."

Musashi walked over to them. Yuna congratulated her brother on his victory and introduced him to Kai and Lance.

"Now, Big Brother has three stars," Yuna said.

"That was a very cool duel," Lance said.

"Thanks. So how do you guys like your first tournament?" Musashi asked.

"It is a bit scary to think that there are actually top duelists around here, with so many rare cards," Kai said.

"You shouldn't be so surprised," Musashi said. "When Siegfried Kaiba holds a tournament, it attracts duelists like a lamp attract moths. Most of the duelists here are from the Pro League."

"That means the competition will be fierce." Lance said.

"I hope you two are ready." Musashi said.

"Yes! And now it is time for me to find myself a duelist!" shouted Yuna, determined to win just like her brother.

"Well, can we wait until we get something to eat?" Lance asked, hoping his stomach wouldn't growl in public.

"No!" Yuna cried. "Dueling first, eating later. Even if I am too weak to stand, I must duel on!"

Kai whispered to Lance, "She really has to sort out for priorities."

Yuna didn't hear them and stalked over to an outside table of the café. Pointing forcefully at the girl sitting there, Yuna said, "Hi, let's duel!"

The girl look up from her drink, a bit surprised. The straw was still in her mouth. She pluck it out and responded, a bit shaken by Yuna's fiery challenge, "Sure…why not?"

"Alright," Yuna cheered. "My name's Yuna Kensei."

"Um…I'm Annie Lee," the girl said as she put on her duel disk.

"Game On!"

* * *

**Yuna Kenshi (8000) – Annie Lee (8000)**

"Why don't you go first, Annie?" Yuna handed the first move over to her.

"Um…sure," Annie said. She looked over her cards for a while, torn between her choices.

Kai looked over at Lance, who shrugged. "Guess she needs her time."

Yuna fidgeted in her spot, "Sorry to interrupt but could you hurry it up a bit?"

"Oh, sorry," Annie blushed when she noticed the time she wasted. "I place one monster facedown and set one card facedown."

"A pretty normal move; reveals nothing about her deck," Kai commented.

"Maybe," Musashi said. "But it reveals part of her strategy."

"What do you mean?" Lance asked.

"If she had summoned a monster in attack mode, and place one card facedown, the facedown card is most likely a trap. The attack position monster lures the enemy to attack, and then she could spring the trap. However instead she set a monster and set one card. When someone does a move like that, that means their strategy is incomplete, needing specific or many components. She places her cards facedown in order to not reveal anything and to stall or set up for any of the necessary pieces."

This piece of knowledge impressed Kai. "Wow…" Kai said, "You must be good at this."

Musashi smiled. "It is just common sense."

"Well, now it's my move!" Yuna shouted. She looked over the cards in her hand. One spell card spotted for eye. _Patience. I have to wait for the right moment to play this card._

"I summon Mystic Swordsman Lv 2!" A small warrior in a white robe appeared on the field. _(900/0)_

"It doesn't matter what your facedown monster is because the effect of my Mystic Swordsman can destroy any facedown monster regardless of effect or defense," Yuna said. "Attack, Mystic Swordsman!"

Musashi shook his head. "There she goes again; she is mistaking the real threat, the facedown trap card."

"Activate, trap card!" Annie said.

Yuna frowned. _Did I fall into his trap already?_

"Human Wave Tactics!" Annie announced proudly. "When my level 2 or lower monsters are sent to the graveyard as a result of battle, I get to special summon the same number of them out to the field, at the end of the turn."

"Well, I have news for you," Yuna said. "Technically even through I called an attack from my Mystic Swordsman, it is his effect that destroyed your monster not his attack. So your Human Wave Tactics is worthless."

The swordsman slashed through the facedown card, reveal a small cloud that blew into puffs.

"What was that?" Kai asked.

"That was my Cloudian Smoke Ball." Annie said, sadly "Forget it. My strategy is ruined.

"Hey, don't be so upset. That was just bad timing," said Yuna. "Don't worry. Your trap is continuous. You can use it again later."

She slid a card into her disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Poor girl. Going into a tournament like this. She just isn't ready." Lance said.

"Human Wave Tactics…" Musashi muttered. "Things are not going to be as easy as they seem."

"My move…" Annie said. "I summon Nova Summoner!" A decorated glowing halo with wings flew out. _(1400/800)_

"Too bad for you because he has more attack than your warrior. Nova Summoner! Attack her Mystic Swordsman!" The winged fairy shot a beam of light at warrior.

Yuna sighed. "Sorry about this. But I have a trap card, Rising Energy!"

"By discarding one card, I can increase the attack of one of my monsters by 1500!" 900 - 2400. Mystic Swordsman was encased in a fiery aura. He deflected the light beam, destroying the Nova Summoner.

**Yuna Kenshi (8000) – Annie Lee (7000)**

"No…" Annie said. "But when my Nova Summoner is finished, I get to summon another fairy that has lower than 1500 attack points. Happy Lover, come out in defense mode!" A small winged angel with a heart on it appeared. _(800/500)_

"Another weak fairy…" Kai commented. "What kind of fairy deck is this?"

"My move," Yuna drew a card. "It's time to take this duel to a higher level. During my standby phase after I destroyed a monster, I can level up my Mystic Swordsman Lv 2 into Mystic Swordsman Lv 4!" The small warrior disappeared and was replaced by a taller warrior with twin swords. _(1900/1600)_

"Level monsters. They start up small but they can grow up big," Lance commented.

"I still didn't summon yet. Come on out, Silent Swordsman Lv 3!" Another small warrior appeared with a large sword, bigger than itself. _(1000/1000)_

"Silent Swordsman, attack her Happy Lover!" The warrior carried out his order, silently, slashing through the winged fairy.

"Sorry, but there is no holding back. Mystic Swordsman, attack him directly!" Yuna commanded. Annie cried out as the warrior slashed her with his twin swords..

**Yuna Kenshi (8000) – Annie Lee (5100)**

"I set another card facedown." Yuna said, "It's your move." _My facedown Mirror Force would take out anything big. Not that Annie is putting up much of a fight._

"Did you forget? My Human Wave Tacties activates. Come on out, Mokey Mokey" A white square with a question mark on its head appeared. It had short little wings and arms. It was weird but it was a fairy. _(300/100)_

"That is…" Lance started, but realized he couldn't find any word to describe it.

"Ahhh…. It's so cute!" Yuna said.

"Mokey Mokey…" Musashi said. "He's just missing a certain spell card."

"What is he up to? If he doesn't do something fast, Yuna is just going to walk all over him." Kai said.

"Sorry…" Annie said, "I know I was a bit slow in the beginning, but now I am ready to give you the duel that you have been waiting for."

_What?_ Yuna thought. _Is she ready to play for real?_

"I active Mystical Space Typhoon!" The winds shattered Yuna's facedown Mirror Force.

"Now, she's going on the offensive," Musashi said. "Annie must have gotten the cards she needs now."

"Next, I play a field card, Sanctuary of the Sky!" A side panel opened on Annie's disk and she placed the card inside. The battlefield transformed into a paradise of clouds. It seemed like Duel Monster Heaven.

"I know that card," said Lance. "No damage is taken when fairies battle other monsters."

"Here is another spell card, Mokey Mokey Smackdown!" A green card with a picture of a very, very angry Mokey Mokey appeared.

"What does that card do?" Yuna asked.

"Just wait and see," Annie said. "I summon The Agent of Creation - Venus!" A golden winged angel, descended on to the field. _(1600/0)_

"Now, I will activate her effect. The Agent of Creation can create life from nothing. It was by her hands that first created life in the world," she explained. "By paying 500 life points each, I get to special summon a Mystical Shine Ball from my deck. So I pay 1500 life points."

**Yuna Kenshi (8000) – Annie Lee (3600)**

Three mysterious shining orbs appeared on the field. _(500/500) x 3_

"Now Mystical Shine Ball, attack the Silent Swordsman!" The shining ball floated over to the warrior. He swatted it away with his sword. It burst into pixels

"Her life points don't go down because of Sanctuary in the Sky, but what is the point?" Then Kai understood. "Unless it is to…"

"My Mokey Mokey has a short temper. When a fairy on my side of the field is destroy in battle, he gets 3000 attacks. All thanks to Mokey Mokey Smackdown." The fairy went red, clearly enraged. 300 - 3000

"Now, Mokey Mokey, attack Mystic Swordsman LV 4!" The enraged fairy charged into warrior, crushing him into pieces.

**Yuna Kenshi (6900) – Annie Lee (3600)**

"Okay…" Yuna said, "Maybe it is not so cute anymore"

"Venus, attack her Silent Swordsman!" The winged angel cast a spell, shattering the Silent Swordsman.

**Yuna Kenshi (6300) – Annie Lee (3600)**

"Lastly, Mystic Shine Balls, attack directly!" The twin shine balls emitted a ray of light, knocking Yuna down.

**Yuna Kenshi (5300) – Annie Lee (3600)**.

She picked herself up. That didn't hurt…much

"Don't worry. The effect of Mokey Mokey Smackdown only last for one turn," said Annie. "But before it goes away, I play Mystic Wok. By tributing a monster, I get to gain life points equal to its attack or defense. So bye bye, Mokey Mokey. I will see you later." Mokey Mokey vanished, leaving behind a trail of glittering lights.

**Yuna Kenshi (5300) – Annie Lee (6600)**

"Your move, Yuna," Annie announced, proudly.

"Woah, Annie just turn this duel completely around," Kai said.

Lance nodded, "Yea. Who knew that she could pull something off like this?"

"Yuna, be careful," Musashi said.

"Draw!" Yuna pondered over the cards in her hand. _That was unexpected. What should I do now? Lucky, only Mokey Mokey gets the boost._

_If I attack, she wouldn't lose any life points because of the Sanctuary of the Sky. But if I don't attack, I would be giving her a powerful field advantage. Her spell and trap cards… I have to get rid of them._

"Come on out, Masked Knight Lv 3!" A small armored knight stepped onto the field. _(1500/800) _

"Masked Knight…" Kai said, "I never even heard of that card."

"Well, I guess this is one of the benefits of having connections," Musashi smirked. "It was Yuna's graduation present. The Masked Knight is a new and rare series of level monsters that were just recently released."

"Now, I use my Masked Knight's effect. You take 400 points of damage!" Yuna shouted. The Masked Knight waved his sword through the air. A sonic boom slashed Annie.

**Yuna Kenshi (5300) – Annie Lee (6200)**

"After using his effect, he can't attack." Yuna said, "But I can work around that. I play a spell card, Level Up!" The knight disappeared and was replaced with a taller, burly knight. _(2300/1600)_

"As its name implies, Level Up bring my monster to its next level. So meet, Masked Knight Lv 5!" Yuna shouted, "Attack the Agent of Creation."

The knight brought his great sword down on the angel. Venus vanished but thanks to the field card, Annie lost no life points.

"Your move, Annie." Yuna added, "Also your Human Wave Tactics doesn't activate since Venus is a level 4 monster."

"I know how my card works." Annie said. _Darn…No Mokey Mokey. But no matter, I have another idea._

"Now I summon Emissary of the Afterlife!" A reaper in rags with a large scythe appeared. _(1600/600)_

"Wait a minute; don't tell me he isn't a fairy," Lance said.

"Actually, he's a fiend," replied Annie. "Your move, Yuna."

_Yes! Because it is a fiend, Sanctuary of the Sky can't protect it. _Yuna thought.

"Time for my Masked Knight to level up to Level 7!" The knight was replaced by a grander knight in armor. _(2900/2200) _

"Masked Knight, attack her Emissary of the Afterlife!" With a mighty swing, the embassy was no more.

"Yuna!" Musashi shouted. "That was an obvious trap!"

**Yuna Kenshi (5300) – Annie Lee (4900)**

"Thanks because when my Emissary of the Afterlife is destroyed by battle, we both get to place a level 3 or lower normal monster from our deck into our hand." Annie took her deck out of the slot and began looking through it.

Yuna didn't even bother, "I have none."

"Well, I am bringing back an old friend," Annie said, holding up a card. "Mokey Mokey."

"I am not done yet!" Yuna said. "I activate my Masked Knight's effect. You take 1500 damage." Annie was knocked down by a massive shockwave.

**Yuna Kenshi (5300) – Annie Lee (3400)**

"My turn and I would start by summoning Mokey Mokey!" The familiar square fairy appeared. _(300/100)_

"Mystical Shine Ball, attack her Masked Knight." The Masked Knight easily batted down the futile attempt. Mokey Mokey grew red. 300 - 3000

"Mokey Mokey, avenge your friend!" The mad fairy smashed the Masked Knight into pixels.

**Yuna Kenshi (5000) – Annie Lee (3400)**

"Mystic Shine Ball, direct attack!" For a second time, Yuna was knocked down by the shining orb.

**Yuna Kenshi (4500) – Annie Lee (3400)**

"I place one card facedown." Annie said, "End turn."

"Remember my Human Wave Tactics takes effect and I play Cloudian Smoke Ball in defense mode." A cute small cloud appeared on the field. _(200/600)_

"Annie is in total control of the duel," Kai said.

"Yuna needs something to get rid of those spell cards," said Lance.

"Believe, Yuna," Musashi murmured.

_Okay…Relax. _"Draw!" Yuna placed a card on her disk. "I play a spell card, Warrior Returning Alive." She took a card from the graveyard. "This returns Silent Swordsman LV 3 to my hand."

"Next, I summon him. Silent Swordsman LV 3!" The silent warrior returned to the field. _(1000/1000)_

"Attack her Mokey Mokey!" The square became triangles as the swordsman slashed through it.

"I set one card facedown and it is your move," Yuna said.

"Nice try," said Annie. "But remember at the end of the turn, thanks to Human Wave Tactics, I can special summon another Mokey Mokey." Another square fairy appeared _(300/100)_

"My move," she said. "Here we go again. Cloudian Smoke Ball, attack her Silent Swordsman." The cloud was no match for the warrior's sword. Mokey Mokey became bright red. 300 - 3000

"Mokey Mokey, crush her Silent Swordsman!" The fuming fairy rushed at the warrior.

"Oh man, I can't watch…" Kai said.

Yuna smiled. "You fell for it. I activate my trap card, Malevolent Catastrophe!" Howling raging winds whipped around the field.

Yuna shouted over the roar of the storm, "I can only activate it when you attack. It destroys all spell and trap cards on the field!"

"No!" shouted Annie. "I chain Over Limit! By paying 500 life points, I get to special summon one monster for every monster destroyed in battle this turn as long as their attack is lower than 1000." A fluffy cloud appeared in defense mode. _(200/600)_

**Yuna Kenshi (4500) – Annie Lee (2900)**

"That still doesn't stop your Mokey Mokey and since both Mokey Mokey Smackdown and Sanctuary of the Sky are finished, you are going to take damage." Silent Swordsman sliced down the confused fairy.

**Yuna Kenshi (4500) – Annie Lee (2200)**

"Darn…" Annie said.

"Woah. Way to go Yuna!" Kai shouted.

"Good job," Musashi said.

"I move my Mystic Shine Ball to defense mode. And I place one card facedown," Annie slid a card into her disk. "Your move."

"My pleasure," Yuna said. "My Silent Swordsman is growing up. Come forth Silent Swordsman Lv 5." The silent swordsman grew in height, now the age of a young adult. _(2300/1000)_

"I play a spell card, Reinforcements of the Army! With it I would search for a warrior and add it to my hand." Yuna picked out a card from her deck.

"I would show you who I got. I summon my second Mystic Swordsman Lv 2." The warrior in a white robe appeared. _(900/0)_

"Swordsmen, take out her monsters." The silent warrior slashed through the Cloudian while the mystic warrior swiped down the shining ball.

"Now, I will play one card facedown," Yuna said. "End turn." _Now it is time for this card._

"I am not going to give up. I play Pot of Greed." A grinning green pot appeared. "As you all probably know, I get to draw two cards." Annie made two draws.

"Next I play another pot, Pot of Avarice." Another jolly pot appeared. "With this card I get to return five monsters into my deck and then draw two cards." Annie took five cards from her graveyard and shuffled it back into the deck. Then she drew two more cards.

"Now to play some of these new cards. I summon Happy Lover!" The winged fairy with a heart appeared. _(800/500)_

"What? In attack mode?" Yuna shouted. "Don't tell me…"

"Next, here comes another Mokey Mokey Smackdown!" The continuous spell card materialized on the field again.

"I was afraid of this," Yuna murmured.

"But he doesn't have any Mokey Mokey," Kai said.

"They should be in her graveyard or did she return them to her deck with Pot of Avarice?" Lance wondered.

"They are still in my graveyard," said Annie. "But not for long. Reveal facedown card, Backup Solider!" A purple card with a trio of monsters appeared. "I get to add three normal monsters into my hand. So come back my Mokey Mokeys."

The three cards were added back into her hand. Annie smiled. "Now it is time to call on the lord of all Mokey Mokeys. I play the spell card Polymerization fusing my three Mokey Mokeys!"

_What? A fusion… _thought Yuna.

"Descend Mokey Mokey King!" A huge shadow descended upon the field. Yuna looked up and saw a strange square floating above them. It was big enough to block out the sun. _(300/100)_

"Woah…" Lance's mouth was wide open in awe.

"You could say that again," said Kai.

"Woah."

"A fusion like that still has 300 attack points" Musashi said. "It must have one powerful effect."

"The stage is set. Mokey Mokey King, attack her Mystic Swordsman!" As threatening as the giant might be, its attack was nothing. The small warrior was able to slice the monster in two.

**Yuna Kenshi (4500) – Annie Lee (1600)**

What…?" Yuna looked around, startled. All around her, white squares were falling from the sky.

"Wow!" Kai yelled, "It is raining Mokey Mokeys!"

Annie laughed. "When my Mokey Mokey King is destroyed, I get to special summon as many Mokey Mokeys from my graveyard as I can. Welcome back buddies!" Three Mokey Mokeys floated down in front of him. _(300/100) x 3_

"Bringing back her ace cards…" Musashi muttered. "This is her final attack."

"Happy Lover, attack her Mystic Swordsman." The warrior finished off the fairy with an overhead swing.

**Yuna Kenshi (4500) – Annie Lee (1500)**

"She triggered the effect of Mokey Mokey Smackdown! That means all three Mokey Mokeys have 3000 attack points!" Lance shouted.

"That's right," said Annie. All three fairies were pulsing red. A nerve on their heads was throbbing madly. "Mokey Mokeys! Attack!"

A Mokey Mokey rammed into Silent Swordsman, throwing him into the building behind Yuna.

**Yuna Kenshi (3800) – Annie Lee (1500)**

Another Mokey Mokey collided with Mystic Swordsman, causing a huge blast. Yuna watched as her life points pummeled.

**Yuna Kenshi (1700) – Annie Lee (1500)**

"This is it! Yuna thanks for such a great duel!" Annie shouted. "Mokey Mokey, attack!"

"Yuna!" shouted Kai.

_Her facedown card…_Musashi thought.

"Well if you are having so much fun, let's not quit now." Yuna smiled. "I active my facedown card, Flute of the Summoning Kuriboh!" A cheerful tune began playing.

"This card lets me take a Kuriboh or Winged Kuriboh from my deck," explained Yuna. She took a card from her deck.

"And now all I have to do is discard my Kuriboh and your attack is void." Yuna slipped it into her graveyard quickly. A wall of fluffy monsters rose up and defended Yuna against the attack. Explosions rocked the field, but the wall held, leaving her life points untouched.

"Nice move!" shouted Lance.

"Brilliant save!" cried Kai.

Musashi chuckled, "Those fur balls…"

Annie was amazed. But she began to laugh. "You're right," she said, smiling. "This is the most fun duel I had in a while. Thanks, Yuna."

"No problem," Yuna chuckled. "You know, you really surprise me, Annie. No offense, but I didn't expect this much of a fight from you."

Annie smiled, "Well are you happy how it turned out?"

"Yup!" Yuna nodded. "But I suppose every duel must have some ending."

She drew. "I play Pot of Greed!" The grinning green pot came into sight. Yuna drew two cards.

"Now I play spell card, Level Modulation. This powerful spell card allows you to draw twice." Yuna said, "Go on and draw."

Annie drew twice. She looked over the two cards. _Nice. Lighting Vortex and Triangle Power._ _There is no way I am going to lose next turn._

"Then I get to special summon a monster from my graveyard. Return Silent Swordsman Lv 5." The stout warrior walked onto the field, his broadsword gleamed in the air. _(2300/1000)_

Annie took a step back. _Oh no… if he attacks right now…_

"Don't worry." Yuna said, "The monster summoned by this effect can not attack or use its effect this turn."

"However…" She flipped over the last card in her hand. "Level up!"

The warrior vanished. A taller, muscular swordsman entered the field. He brandished his huge broadsword as through it was a baton. _(2800/1000) _

"Silent Swordsman Lv 7! Attack her Mokey Mokey!" commanded Yuna.

With one mighty rush, the warrior slashed through the fairy. The force of the blow knocked Annie down as well as the rest of her life points.

**Yuna Kenshi (1700) – Annie Lee (0)**

* * *

"Seemed like Yuna's skills didn't go to waste," Kai said.

Yuna walked over to her fallen opponent and helped her get up. "That was a great duel,"

"It was," Annie said. "But now I got one star left. Seems like I'm back to square one."

"Don't sweat it," Yuna said. "I bet you can will it back easily."

"Thanks," said Annie. "Well, I will see you guys later. More duels to fight."

Yuna smiled. "Yep, the duty of a duelist is never over."

* * *

Meanwhile, one certain duelist was taking a break, after an unpleasant defeat. Max Luther was busy drowning his sorrow with another mouthful of beer. It wasn't like this was his first lost, far from it but how can he be losing to people with less experience than he does? He remembered working his way from the traditional duels to the tournament levels. He fought with everything he got in small local tournaments until one day he was able to enter the Pro Leagues. That day was the dream he dreamed for.

But since then he began to fall downhill. True, he gets the occasional win here and there. But there was always someone that would knock him back down a couple of levels. He swear that they seem to get younger ever year.

He took another gulp for his drink. The door bell twinkled as two young duelists walked in. They were deep in conversing, laughing between every sentence. Max could hear them talking as they took a seat nearby.

"Is that Max Luther?"

"The Pro League duelist?"

Max couldn't help smiling but his grin disappeared when he heard what they said next.

"Yea, that dropout."

"He was never any good in the Pro Leagues."

"No style."

"I heard he got beaten here by some kid."

"Someone that uses Six Samurais right?"

"Yea, how did you know?"

"I see it!"

"Really, how did it go?"

"Quickly. Done in a flash. He got beaten in just three turns."

"No way. He must really suck."

"Yea, I bet my little sister could beat him in a duel."

Their laughter was cut short when an explosion of glass and liquid rocked their table. They whirled around shocked to see Max Luther stalked out of the bar.

"Fucking assholes…no respect," Max swore under his breath. Can't have a decent drink without someone bringing back bad memories.

"Care for a drink?"

Max turned around to see a man leaning against the wall of the bar. He was wearing a long black with a hat that hid most of his face. He held two bottles of wine in his hand. Max could see that it was a rare bland. However he was cautious.

"Who are you?" Max asked.

The man shrugged, "Just an admirer." He grinned before he continued, "Who thinks that you can better."

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"Vanilla beatdown? Please you need to mature your taste," The man headed a bottle to Max, who took a swing from it. It was good stuff.

"The real reason that people are beating you is because there is no subtlety behind your move," the man explained. "Perhaps it is time to rethink your deck."

"Do you have an idea?" Max asked.

"Perhaps you need this card." The man handed a card over to Max.

As Max took it, he felt a sort of tingle through his body. It felt like a current of static electric. The street lights flickered wildly for a moment.

The man chuckled, "Cheers."

* * *

_However everyone can agree on one thing…_

_Sometimes power can be dangerous…_

* * *

**Masked Knight LV 3**

Level 3

Earth

Warrior/Effect

1500/800

Once per turn, you can inflict 400 damage to your opponent. If you activate this effect, this card cannot attack this turn. During your Standby Phase, send this face-up card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Masked Knight LV5" from your hand or Deck

**Masked Knight LV 5**

Level 5

Earth

Warrior/Effect

2300/1300

Once per turn, you can inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. If you activate this effect, this card cannot attack this turn. During your Standby Phase, send this face-up card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Masked Knight LV7" from your hand or Deck

**Masked Knight LV 7**

Level 7

Earth

Warrior/Effect

2900/2200

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of "Masked Knight LV5". Once per turn, you can inflict 1500 damage to your opponent.

Note: Jill deLauncebeaux used these three cards in episode 16 of Yugioh 5D against Aki Izayoi.

* * *

It really bugs me how many times I changed the decks for Musashi and Yuna. I was hoping the decks were flexible enough to make changes on as well as enjoyable to write.

I ended up with Six Samurai for Musashi because they are my favorite archetype. They are just plain sexy. I had to do a one turn kill with them.

Level monsters for Yuna because... Well, I just like playing them and they represent a lot of things, liking growing up, taking your own path and not staying in one's shadow. Much like how Yugi defeated Yami with Slient Magician.


	5. Chapter 5 Heaven and Earth

I am so sorry that this chapter is so late. I am happy that I am still getting new readers. However I have to disappoint you all but school has started again. Of course this mean that my writing time is dead, or at least dying. I have the next two chapters about halfway done. But future chapters might take a long time. So please bear with me.

Anyway here is Chapter 05

* * *

_In the world of Duel Monsters, there are many kinds of monsters._

_Maximillion Pegasus had classified these monsters into different types_

_Winged Beasts soar in the air._

_Fishes swarm the seas._

_Fairies dominated the heavens._

_Fiends roamed the lowest abyss._

_Beasts prowled the earth._

_Warriors fight in cities._

_Prepare for the battle of two of the greatest realms._

Chapter 05 - Heaven And Earth

* * *

Kai and Lance sat back in their seats, their stomachs satisfied. Musashi was busy telling them about his early duel. He had to play a duelist using Charmers for his second star. The elemental charmers gave him a bit of trouble, since his samurais had a variety of attributes. However his opponent lacked any real strength so his samurais ran them over after a couple of turns.

Meanwhile, Yuna was busy chatting on her phone. "Ok, I will see you soon. Bye."

"Who was that?" Musashi asked, sipping from his drink.

Yuna put her phone back in her jeans. "That was Eliza. She is going to be here soon."

"Eliza Troy?"

"Yea. Who else?"

"Who is Eliza?" Kai asked, puzzled. He didn't remember any Eliza in his years at the Duel Academy."

"Oh, it is my pen pal from the West Duel Academy. "Remember that year when I went over there as an exchange student. I met her there." Yuna explained. "She is also the sister of my brother's best friend."

Within a few moments, a tall, long red headed girl walked by. She wore a duel disk on her arm. Her eyes widen as she saw Yuna. "Yuna!"

Yuna leaped up and embrace the girl. "Eliza!"

"It's great to see you."

"I am glad you made it. Here have a seat."

Yuna introduced her to the rest of her friends. "This is my brother, Musashi. I think you know him already. And this is Kai and Lance, my buddies from the East Duel Academy."

"What's up?" Kai said.

"Hi," Lance greeted, holding out his hand.

Eliza smiled. "Nice to meet you guys." She shook his hand.

"So how is Paris doing?" Musashi asked.

"He's fine," Eliza said. "He couldn't make it to the tournament in his condition but he says he would root for you."

Musashi sighed. "I was hoping I could duel him again."

"So, how are you doing in the tournament?" Kai asked, trying to make some conversation.

"Oh, just fine," Eliza said. "I got two stars now."

"Cool," said Lance. "Looks like you're tied with me and Kai."

"Ha!" Yuna remarked. "You're so slow, Eliza. My brother and I already have three stars."

"Just you wait, Yuna," Eliza said. "I am going to-"

"Look what we have here, the geek squad."

Kai and Lance recognized the voice, perhaps a bit too well. They didn't have good memories about it. Much of the time it was shouted threats and insults at them.

"Russell!"

Russell chuckled. He pulled off his black shades. "And it's nice to see you too, Lance," he answered sarcastically. His two cronies chuckled as well.

"And I see Isaac and Jerome is still tagging along," Kai pointed out, looking at Russell's two companions.

"Of course," Russell responded. "What surprise me is that you guys are still here."

"Surprise?" Yuna said. "You are just jealous. Kai, Lance and I were the top of our grade. Don't you remember?"

"Tsk." Russell said. "That was school, this is the real world." His duel disk hummed into action.

"Guess you want to duel?" Lance said, preparing his own duel disk.

Russell smiled, "Let's start with ladies first shall we?"

Yuna ignored him. "I don't waste my time with pricks like you."

A nerve on Russell's forehead seemed to twitch, "Why you freaking stuck up slutting bit-"

However he never finished his sentence, when Musashi grabbed his throat forcefully. "One more word out of you, and I will crush your windpipe."

"Russell!" Isaac and Jerome cried. But neither of them dared stepped near Musashi.

Russell's face began to turning red. Kai glanced both ways. "Musashi, if the enforcers come, there might be problems."

Musashi understood. "If you want a duel, ask nicely." He let go off Russell, who began panting on the floor.

"Are you alright man?" Isaac asked as he helped Russell off the floor. His face was still as red as a cherry.

Yuna smiled. "Anyway, if it is a duel you want, I will give you one."

"Eliza, take them on."

Eliza was taken back by this. "What? Me?"

"Is there any other Eliza around here?" Yuna asked. "Look, I am not asking you to take all three of them on. But I am sure you can that take on one of them."

Still, Eliza hesitated.

"Go!" Yuna shouted.

Eliza stumbled forward and activated her duel disk.

"Jerome…Duel her," Russell croaked, still having trouble to speak right.

Jerome grunted and stepped forwards. "I'm not going easy on you pretty lady."

Eliza smiled, nervously. "Okay…"

"Hey, Yuna. Do you really think it is okay for Eliza to be fighting our fight?" Lance asked. "I mean Russell and his gang are only after us. She has nothing to do with this."

Yuna shrugged. "I think it would be fine. Don't worry about Eliza. I know she seem a bit shy but you never seen her duel before."

Both Jerome and Eliza's duel disk were ready with 8000 life points.

"Duel!"

* * *

**Eliza Troy (8000) - Jerome Baricos (8000)**

"You may take the first move," Jerome said.

"Um….ok…" Eliza looked over her hand carefully. "I will place my Nova Summoner in attack mode." A decorated halo ring floated in front of Eliza. _(1400/1000)_

"I end my turn," she concluded.

"A fairy deck," Kai asked.

"Yep," Yuna answered. "Not the cute ones like Mokey Mokeys through."

"Is that all?" Jerome asked. "I summon Voltic Kong to the field." A raging gorilla surrounded by cracking electricity appeared on the field. _(1800/1000)_

"Voltic Kong, attack her fairy!" The beast smashed her monster with a fist of lighting.

**Eliza Troy (7600) - Jerome Baricos (8000)**

"When Nova Summoner is destroyed in battle, I can summon other fairy onto the field," Eliza said. "I summon Radiant Jeral in defense position." A glowing figure materialized on the field. _(1000/2000)_

"Fine, but you lose the top card of your deck due to Voltic Kong's effect," Jerome said. Voltic Kong shot a blot of lightning at Eliza's duel disk. She placed the top card in the graveyard.

"I would end the turn with this card facedown." A card back appeared in front of Jerome.

Eliza drew her next card. "I sacrifice my Radiant Jeral to summon Airknight Parshath." An armored clad centaur galloped onto the field. He waved his sword proudly. _(1900/1400)_

"Woah Parshath…" Lance muttered. "That is a pretty rare card."

Musashi grinned. "I suppose Paris wasted no expense at treating her little sister."

"Airknight Parshath, attack his Voltic Kong!" The centaur galloped towards the gorilla.

Jerome smirked. "You fell for it. I activate my trap card, Sakuretsu Armor!"

"Not so fast!" Eliza shouted. "I activate the effect of my Herald of the Purple Light!" A purple winged orb flew through Jerome's trap card. "By discarding him and another fairy, I can negate the activation of your trap card." The airknight slashed through the lightning beast.

**Eliza Troy (7600) - Jerome Baricos (7900)**

"Also when my Airknight Parshath inflicts battle damage, I can draw one card." Eliza drew and placed the card in her disk. "I will end my turn with a facedown."

"That was actually a very smart play," Kai commented. "Herald of the Purple Light makes her lose cards in her hand, but she compensated that with Parshath."

"Nice card, but it has way too low attack points for a one tribute summon," Jerome said. "I summon Berserk Gorilla!" A monstrous gorilla stomped onto the field_. (2000/0) _

"Attack her Airknight!" The huge gorilla lumbered towards the centaur.

"I play the spell card, Enemy Controller!" Eliza yelled. A game console remote appeared in front of the airknight. "When this card, I will switch your monster into defense position, stopping its attack." The gorilla crouched down in defense.

"And I know that when Berserk Gorilla is in defense mode, it is automatically destroyed!" The beast burst into pixels.

Jerome growled. "Fine, your move."

"Draw," Eliza said. "I summon Majestic Mech - Senku in attack position!" A mechanical blue fairy flew into view. _(1000/500)_

"Senku, Parshath, attack his life points directly!" The majestic mech fired an arrow of light while Parshath slashed Jerome down.

**Eliza Troy (7600) - Jerome Baricos (5000)**

"Since Parshath just inflicted damage, I draw one card but also because Majestic Mech – Senku attacked you directly, I also draw a card." Eliza made two draws.

"This is the end of my turn and sadly my Majestic Mech – Senku only last until the end of the turn." The mech crumbled and disappeared.

"Looks like Eliza taken the lead in both cards and life points," Lance said.

"See, I told you she would be fine," Yuna said.

"There is no reason to celebrate yet," Jerome said. "I play Dark World Dealings. Both of us discard one card and then draw one card." Eliza looked over her hand and sent other Nova Summoner to the graveyard. Both duelists drew a card.

"Next I play Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points, I get to take back the card that I just sent to the graveyard. Come on, Big Koala!" A massive blue koala emerged on the field. Eliza felt so small compared to that monster. _(2700/2000)_

"Now I can normal summon this, Mad Dog of Darkness." A howling saliva drooling dog stalked onto the field. Needless to say, you don't want this as your pet. (1900/1400)

Jerome smirked. "Big Koala, destroy her Airknight!" The huge beast merely swatted the smaller fairy away.

**Eliza Troy (6900) - Jerome Baricos (5000)**

"No… Parshath…" Eliza muttered. Losing that card was never easy.

"I'm not done yet. Mad Dog of Darkness, attack directly!" The crazed canine raked Eliza's legs with its claws.

**Eliza Troy (5000) ****-**** Jerome Baricos (5000)**

"Damn…now the scores are tied," Yuna said.

"I think you're underestimating Jerome," Kai said. "We played him a few times. You know it is trouble to get rid of his Big Koala after it hits the field."

Eliza tried to ignore the pain the hologram made. There wasn't a whole lot she could do. "I place one card facedown and set a monster facedown." A facedown monster appeared with a facedown card.

"My move," Jerome said. "Mad Dog, attack her facedown monster." The dog pounced on the facedown card but was repelled by a pair of floating fairies.

"That is my Gellenduo," Eliza explained. "As long as I don't take damage, it can't be destroyed in battle." _(1700/0)_

Jerome growled. "Fine, I would place this card facedown and end my turn."

_Seems like I just brought myself some time…Got to regroup…_Eliza thought. "I play the spell card, Terraforming! With this card I can take one field card from my deck and add it to my hand." She perused through her deck before finding the card she needed.

"I play Sanctuary of the Sky!" Clouds enveloped the field. Behind Eliza loomed a giant, ancient, stone temple with arches, pillars, and a glowing spire, the Sanctuary itself.

"This card prevents all battle damage from occurring when I battle with fairies," Eliza said. "So even if you have piercing, I wouldn't feel it."

"I end my turn," she said.

"Draw!" Jerome shouted. _Darn…With that Sanctuary she just got harder to defeat._

"I summon the Trojan Horse in attack mode." A wooden horse rolled onto the field. _(1600/1400)_

"Even if he is made out of work, he is still a beast," Jerome said. "I end my turn.

"Eliza, be careful of that Trojan Horse." Lance said. "It can cou-"

"Be quiet, Lance," Jerome said. "I know you are well aware of what the Trojan Horse can do. You use it in your deck too. This is a duel, don't infer."

"Hush, Lance," Yuna said. "Don't worry. Eliza can handle it herself."

_That brought me some more time but I need to be able to turn this around. _Eliza thought.

"Jerome, did you know that there is a second effect to my Gellenduo?" Eliza asked as she drew her next card. "The second effect allows me to count it as two tributes, as long as it is for a fairy monster."

"I tribute my Gellenduo to summon Guardian Angel Joan!" A powerful serene angel descended from the spire of the Ancient Sanctuary. _(2800/2000) _

"Guardian Angel Joan, attack the Big Koala!" Eliza directed. The angel chanted a powerful spell that vanquished the giant beast.

**Eliza Troy (5000) - Jerome Baricos (4900)**

"Also when Joan destroys a monster in battle, I gain the attack points of that monster." Joan sprayed a stream of golden dust around Eliza causing her life points to rocket upwards.

**Eliza Troy (7700) – Jerome Baricos (4900)**

"Your turn," Eliza said.

"Nice move, Eliza!" Kai cheered.

"Yes! Eliza is back in the lead," Yuna said.

"Remember Yuna," Musashi said. "Just because you have the stronger monster doesn't mean that you have field advantage. Sometimes quantity is better than quality."

"Damn…I thought Jerome was going to win," Isaac said.

"Patience," said Russell. "Jerome still has field advantage. It is only a matter of time before the right cards come."

"That was a lucky draw," Jerome said. "But I think I have a better one." He summoned the monster that he just drew. A small koala holding a chestnut appeared. (100/1600)

"He might look cute but he has a powerful effect," Jerome explained. "Once per turn, as long as I have another beast on the field, I can reduce the attack of your monster to zero!"

"What!" Eliza cried.

The koala burned with a fiery red aura. Joan groaned as the same aura surrounded her. _(0/2800) _

"Sea Koala, attack her Guardian Angel Joan." The mighty fairy could do nothing to defend herself as the koala gently punched her. She exploded at the slight impact.

"You night not take damage when your fairies are destroy but I am sure you still take direct damage!" Jerome shouted. The Mad Dog of Darkness and the Trojan Horse assaulted her with their attacks.

"Eliza!" Yuna shouted, worriedly.

**Eliza Troy (4200) – Jerome Baricos (4900)**

"Your move, girl," Jerome said. "That is if you could pick yourself off the floor."

"Eliza, get up!" Yuna shouted.

"Hang in there Eliza!" cried Lance.

"Don't give up!" Kai yelled

"You brother is watching," said Musashi.

Eliza got up her, shakily. Ever since she started Duel Monsters, direct attacks were the hardest things to take. But she can't give up now. Not with everyone cheering for her. Not when her brother is probably watching from the hospital bed.

"Draw!" she shouted. _This monster isn't powerful enough to take up the Big Koala…but my facedown card…_

"I remove Guardian Angel Joan and Airknight Parshath from play to special summon Soul of Purity and Light!" A translucent angel hovered into view. _(2000/1800)_

"That wimpy soul can't defeat my Big Koala!" Jerome remarked.

"She is not the main threat," Eliza said. "Go, facedown card! Miraculous Descent!" Trumpets bellowed as Guardian Angel Joan descended from the sky. _(2800/2000)_

"Miraculous Descent allows to special summon a fairy that was remove from play," Eliza said. "Now you understand why I chose to remove my Guardian Angel from play."

"Soul of Purity and Light, attack his Sea Koala!" With a simple blast of light, the small koala exploded into pixels.

**Eliza Troy (4200) – Jerome Baricos (3000)**

"Guardian Angel Joan, take care of his Mad Dog of Darkness." Joan blasted the canine away with holy flames.

**Eliza Troy (4200) – Jerome Baricos (900)**

"And of course, Joan's effect takes place again," reminded Eliza. She was showered by a stream of golden dust.

**Eliza Troy (6100) – Jerome Baricos (900)**

"Make your move, Jerome," Eliza said.

"Eliza is way in the lead." Kai commented.

"Way to go!" Yuna applauded.

"Damn," Isaac muttered. "Hey, Russell do you think that girl is going to win?"

Russell pondered on this for a moment. "Who knows? We know nothing about that girl? She probably comes from one of the other Duel Academy. However, what we do know is how much Jerome improve his deck. Let's just wait and see."

"I am not finish yet," Jerome said. "I activate Graceful Charity!" An angel appeared behind him as the card came into effect.

"You are not the only one with angels by their side," Jerome said as he made three draws.

"Oh, lovely," he said, quickly discarding two cards. "You know, that Gellenduo reminds me of a certain monster, such as my Trojan Horse! It can count as two sacrifices for my Giant Koala!" The massive koala lumbered back onto the field. _(2700/2000)_

"I know he's not stronger enough to take down your Guardian Angel," Jerome said. "But perhaps he could use a little help with this." He placed a spell card into the disk.

"Wild Nature's Release!" The placid koala suddenly began a bellowing, roaring stomping beast! _(4700/2000)_

"This card releases the true nature of animals, the savage killing instinct that all animals possess." Jerome explained. "This is where the power of the beast is at its peak. By focusing everything on attack, this card adds the defense points of a beast to its attack points."

"Big Koala, destroy her Guardian Angel Joan!" The huge beast crushed the angel beneath his palm.

"Good thing, Eliza doesn't lose any life points thanks to the Sanctuary," Kai said. "Or that would have hurt."

"Wild Nature's Release has a big drawback," Yuna said. "At the end of turn, the beast affect with that effect would have to be sent to the graveyard."

"At the end of the turn…" Jerome said. "Well, let's not wait until then. Go, trap card, Beast Soul Swap."

"Ever heard of reincarnation?" Jerome asked. "Well, this card allows me to return one beast monster back into my hand." The Big Koala transformed into a mote of light and flew back into Jerome's hand.

"Then I can special summon a beast with the same level as the returned monster. And who better to summon than the same Big Koala!" The beast returned to the field, back into its placid mood.

"This is bad," Lance said. "He found a way to counter the effects of Wild Nature's Release. Since technically this Big Koala was not the one he played the spell card on, it doesn't go to the graveyard at the end of the turn."

"I don't think I ended my end phase yet." Jerome said, smirking. "Big Koala, finish off the Soul of Purity and Light!" The beast swatted the spirit away.

"Alright," Isaac said. "Jerome is back in control."

"Eliza might not have lost any life points," Musashi said. "But her field is completely clear. If she doesn't draw anything good…"

Eliza drew her next card shakily. Looking over the cards in her hand, she said. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Three cards lay in front of her.

"You call that a bluff?" Jerome smirked. "Big Koala, attack her directly!"

"Bluff?" she said. "Do you call this a bluff? Go, Mirror Force!"

"NO!!" Jerome cried. His giant beast was heading to his doom and it was too late to call back the attack.

"And that is not all," Eliza said. "I chain Enchanted Javelin. This trap card will give my life points equal to your monster's attack." A geyser of golden dust flowed around Eliza as the Big Koala shattered like glass.

**Eliza Troy (8800) – Jerome Baricos (900)**

Jerome stood speechless for a few moments before saying "Fine…I would place this card facedown. Just go."

"Damn that fool," Russell scowled. "And the girl needs to do is summon a monster and she would win."

"You can do it, Eliza!" Yuna shouted. "Finish this guy off!"

Eliza drew eagerly. But sadly it was not a monster. Rather it was perhaps the riskiest card in her deck.

"I play one card facedown and end my turn," she said, sadly.

"That was close," Isaac said. "Jerome got lucky."

Jerome wiped his brow as he drew his next card. Upon seeing it, he began to laugh. "Seems like you're out of luck. I am going to end this."

"I summon Bazoo the Soul Eater!" A blue furred monkey came into view. _(1600/900)_

"He might not look tough now but there is a reason he is called Soul Eater." Jerome took three cards out of the graveyard. "By removing these three monsters from play, I can increase his attack points by 300 for each one."

Three faint souls drifted onto the field and were consumed by Bazoo. _(2500/900)_

Jerome chuckled. "I am not finish. You are about to experience the dance of wild animals. I activate Return from a Different Dimension!"

"No!" Yuna cried.

Musashi was surprised. "With that card he could pay half his life points and return every monster he removed from play back to the field."

Russell grinned. "Looks like our first victory in the bag."

Two Big Koalas and a Mad Dog of Darkness materialized onto the field. They seem ready for some payback. _(2700/2000) x2 (1900/1400)_

**Eliza Troy (8800) – Jerome Baricos (450)**

"Oh shit," Eliza muttered.

"Boys, go get her!" The beasts bounded forward, eager for the kill.

Eliza could hear the others screaming her name. She could see the monsters closing in on her. She knew her life points were not enough to survive the blow. Only one thought filled her head through. Was her brother watching?

The beasts fell upon her like stampede. She screamed but no one could hear her under the raging mass.

"Eliza!" Lance shouted.

"Damn it!" Kai swore. "He had gotten better."

Yuna was covering her gaping mouth. _Oh no…why did I tell her to take this duel…why…why_

Isaac pumped his fist in the air. "One down! Jerome's Bazoo Return Kill worked like a charm."

Russell smiled. "Looks like this over."

Musashi grinned. "Why don't you look again?"

All eyes turned to the field. Eliza felt as through the ground was shaking under her. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself and raised her duel disk.

**Eliza Troy (2000) – Jerome Baricos (450)**

"What…" Jerome shook his head in disbelief. "What did you do?"

"I activate perhaps one of the riskiest trap cards in the game," Eliza replied. "Aegis of Gaia. This trap card gives me 3000 life points, enough to survive your attack."

"What a powerful trap card," Kai commented. "She gained 3000 life points right off the bat."

Yuna disagree. "It is a very risky card. If it is destroyed she loses 3000 life points."

Jerome frowned. Just when victory was with in his grasp. He didn't have anything to destroy the card yet. "You lucky bitch. Fine! I end my turn."

The two Big Koala and Mad Dog of Darkness warped away from the field.

"Russell, what do you think now?" Isaac said.

"Hmm…" Russell sure didn't like how this turned out. "Well, Jerome still has Bazoo, which still keeps has 2500 attack points. Maybe things could still swing our way."

"Don't back down, Eliza!" Yuna yelled. "Finish this!"

Eliza nodded as she drew her next card, confidently.

"I play the spell card, Light of Redemption." Eliza said. "With a price of 800 life points, I can recover one light monster that was removed from play."

**Eliza Troy (1200) – Jerome Baricos (450)**

_Is it Guardian Angel Joan? _But then Jerome realized. _Even if it was, she wouldn't be able to summon it._

"Now, I activate Celestial Transformation!" A pillar of light appeared in front of Eliza. "Come forth Airknight Parshath!" The majestic fairy warrior gracefully spring onto the field. _(950/700)_

"Celestial Transformation allows me to special summon a fairy monster from my hand as long as I cut its stats in half."

"Was that a card that you remove to play Soul of the Purity and Light?" Jerome realized. "That's useless. You can't defeat my Bazoo with that."

"Perhaps not," Eliza replied. "But what my Airknight can't defeat, I believe his mentor can!"

"Descend, Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin!" The airknight kneeled and disappeared as a stronger fairy descended to the field. His pearly wings spread across Eliza's side of the field with a holy halo surrounded his back. _(2300/2000)_

The others gasped at the sight of this card. It was quite a rare card. Only perhaps a handful existed in the world.

"I suppose Paris's winnings didn't go to waste," Musashi chuckled.

"You should be honored to see this," Eliza murmured. "When the Sky Paladin enters the battlefield, even the mightiest of fiends flee because they know that justice is about to be served."

"So what?" Jerome barked back. "He's all talk. He doesn't have enough attack points to take down my Bazoo."

"Here in the Sanctuary of the Sky, life in the most celebrated value," Eliza said. "In this realm, the fairies can draw power out of their spirit and will."

Suddenly, the Sky Paladin's attack points rose to 3050.

"As long as the Sanctuary of the Sky is in place, my Paladin gains attack points equal to the difference of our life points," Eliza explained.

"Shit!" Isaac swore. "Jerome is in trouble!"

"Go for it, Eliza!" Yuna shouted.

"There is no turning back. Neo Parshath the Sky Paladin, finish him!" The serene paladin brought down his brilliant war blade on the soul eater, slicing him clear with one final stroke.

**Eliza Troy (1200) – Jerome Baricos (0)**

* * *

"Way to go, Eliza!" Lance cheered.

"Nice dueling," Kai said.

Yuna gave her a warm hug, happy to see that she has gotten better.

"I am sure your brother would not be disappointed." Musashi said.

Jerome scuttled back over to Russell and Isaac. "Sorry, guys…" he murmured.

Russell ignored him. "Whatever, it seems like it is time to move to the main course."

Isaac's duel disk hummed into life. "I'm ready for action." Isaac smirked.

* * *

A young duelist watched a few feet away from the shade of an outside table. He sipped his drink, absentmindedly. He always disliked Russell and his gang. But they would never dare mess with him.

"Seems like Kai is stepping up to the plate," Drake murmured. "I wonder how much he have improved after graduation."

* * *

**New cards**

**Voltic Kong**

Level 4

Light

Beast/Effect

1800/1000

If this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, your opponent must send cards from the top of their Deck to the Graveyard equal to the number of face-up LIGHT monsters you control.

Note: While this is currently a OCG card, it would be release soon for TCG in the Champion Pack: Game Seven


	6. Chapter 6 The Mightest to the Smallest

_Dragons are some of the most powerful cards in Duel Monsters._

_They possess some of the most powerful attacks and effects._

_The Blue Eyes White Dragon is perhaps the most well known card in the world_.

_Its rival, the Red Eyes Black Dragon was used by many famous duelists, Joey Wheeler, Atticus Rhodes and even my mom, Angela Asuka_

_My father, the ex Dragon Lord used the famed Felgrand Dragon._

_But even the mightiest have a match_

_And it could be from the smallest of them all_

**Chapter 06 - From the Mightiest to the Smallest**

* * *

Eliza returned to the sidelines as Kai stepped forward. Kai strapped on his duel disk tightly. After seeing Jerome, he didn't know what to expect from Isaac. He knew Isaac played an Insect deck during the Duel Academy. But what now?

"Ready, Kai?" Issac smirked, his duel disk ready to go.

Kai shook away his pre-duel butterflies. "I was born ready!" Kai shouted.

"Duel!"

* * *

**Kai Asuka (8000) – Isaac Jones (8000) **

"I will go first," Isaac cried. "I summon the mighty Judai Gumo in attack position!" A huge spider appeared, waving its legs threateningly. _(2200/100)_

"I end my turn," said Isaac.

"Jirai Gumo might be strong," Yuna said. "But when it attacks, Isaac will have to flip a coin. If it lands on tails, then he loses half of his life points."

"My dragons can crush your monster with its toenail!" Kai shouted.

"Don't act tough, Kai" Isaac countered. "Today, my dragons will come out on top."

Kai looked over his hand. "I place one monster facedown and one card facedown as well." Two cards, one vertical and the other horizontal, materialized in front of Kai.

"Your move," he said.

"Trying to hide behind those cards, huh?" Isaac said, "Well, take this. I summon Chainsaw Insect!" _(2400/0)_

"Another powerful insect!" Eliza exclaimed.

"Seems like it is not only Jerome who had improved his deck," Lance muttered.

"Just because they are some of the smallest creatures in real life doesn't mean they shouldn't be underestimated," Musashi said.

"Anyway," he continued. "As powerful Chainsaw Insect might be, there is a drawback. When it battles a monster, Kai gets to draw one card."

.

"Chainsaw Insect, attack!" The insect slashed through the facedown card, revealing a Masked Dragon.

Kai swiftly made a draw and said, "I activate Masked Dragon's effect. Come forth, Divine Dragon – Excelion!" The divine silver dragon crouched down in defense position. _(1500/900)_

"No matter," Isaac said. "Crush it, Jirai Gumo!" As the spider charged forward, a holographic coin flipped through the air. "Heads!" shouted Isaac.

The coin spun around as it landed on the ground. But when it slowed down, it landed on heads.

"That means Isaac doesn't have to pay for Jirai Gumo's effect," said Lance.

"Go, trap card!" Kai shouted. "Burst Breath! By tributing my Excelion, I would destroy every monster with less defense than his attack, which is all your insects!" The dragon's holy flame covered the field with flames, burning the two insects into ashes.

"Tsk," Russell said. "Don't tell me Isaac is going to fail too."

"Don't get cocky!" Isaac yelled. "I activate Insect Barrier. This prevents all your insects from attacking. Next, I place one card facedown. Now it is your turn."

"Insect Barrier?" Lance murmured. "But Kai plays dragons, not insects.

Musashi scoffed, "That move was too obvious. The facedown card has to be DNA Surgery, a trap that changes the type all the monsters on the field."

"Draw!" shouted Kai. "I summon Mirage Dragon!" A yellow armored dragon flew into view. _(1600/600) _

"Wait a minute," said Isaac. "I know the effect of that card. I wouldn't be allowed to activate traps during my battle phase, right? Well in that case, I activate it now, DNA Surgery. I chose to change all monsters on the field into insects."

Antennas and glossy wings began to appear on the Mirage Dragon. "Now since it is an insect, it can't attack because of Insect Barrier."

"Oh, please," Kai said. "That combo is way too overused. I saw that coming a mile away. Go, Mystical Space Typhoon!" A gust of wind smashed the trap card. Mirage Dragon returned to its original form.

"I told him to take that out of his deck," Russell said. "He's not going to be able to trick anyone with that."

"Mirage Dragon, direct attack!" The yellow dragon blew a stream of flames that inundated his opponent.

**Kai Asuka (8000) – Isaac Jones (6400) **

"Make your move, Issac." Kai said.

"Seems like Kai has things under control," Yuna commented.

"We are still in the beginning turns," said Musashi. "Both of them still have a comfortable hand. Isaac could still get the lead."

Isaac groaned as he drew his next card. "Think you're tough, huh? I summon Insect Knight!" An insect with a breastplate and a sword and shield leaped onto the field. _(1900/1500)_

"Next I will remove one Insect from my graveyard to special summon, Aztekipede the Worm Warrior!" From the ground burst a large worm with gruesome jaws. (1900/400)

"Two 1900's," Eliza said. "Things could get ugly."

"Insect Knight, attack his Mirage Dragon!" The warrior insect sliced the dragon in half.

**Kai Asuka (7700) – Isaac Jones (6400) **

"Aztekipede, attack his life points directly!" The worm warrior fired a stream of vile liquid at Kai. Kai grunted as when he was hit.

**Kai Asuka (5800) – Isaac Jones (6400) **

"Also when you are dealt damage by Aztekipede, you have to discard the top card of your deck." Kai placed the top card of his deck and placed it in the graveyard.

"I placed two cards facedown," Isaac said. "Your move."

"Draw!" yelled Kai. "I play Premature Burial to revive one monster from my graveyard." With a burst of flames, a slender black winged dragon emerged. _(2400/2000)_

**Kai Asuka (5000) – Isaac Bugsy (6400) **

"What?!" Isaac said. "I never sent that monster to the graveyard."

"This is my Darkblaze Dragon," explained Kai. "The monster sent to the graveyard by your Aztekipede's effect."

"Nice," Yuna said. "He used his opponent's monster to his own advantage."

"How lucky can these guys get?" Jerome said.

"Next, I summon Axe Dragonute!" A burly black armored dragon entered the field. _(2000/1200)_

"Axe Dragonute, attack his Insect Knight!" The insect's sword was no match for the dragon's axe. Afterwards, its effect caused the dragon crouched down in defense mode.

**Kai Asuka (5000) – Isaac Jones (6300) **

"Darkblaze Dragon, return the favor, attack his Aztekipede!" The blazing breath of the dragon incinerated the worm.

**Kai Asuka (5000) – Isaac Jones (5800)**

"But that's not all," Kai added. "Because of my Darkblaze Dragon, you now take damage equal to the attack points of your monster!" The dragon reared up and fired a blast at Isaac.

**Kai Asuka (5000) – Isaac Jones (3900)**

"Kai made a great comeback," Lance said.

"Your turn, Isaac," Kai said, smirking.

"Damn you," Isaac snarled. He drew a card and began to grin. "I activate Foolish Burial to send one Grasschopper to my graveyard." He searched through his deck for the card and placed it into the graveyard.

"Seems like Isaac got a new card," Yuna said.

"Grasschopper…" Eliza muttered. "It's one of those Gemini cards."

"Next, I reveal one of these facedown cards, Birthright!" shouted Isaac. "This will allow me to special summon a normal monster from my graveyard. And I choose Grasschopper!" A mighty praying mantis crashed onto the field. It sliced the air with its blades menacingly. _(2350/1000)_

"Now, I will Gemini summon it!" A beacon of light surrounded the Grasschopper for a moment and then vanished. Somehow, it made the insect look ever more threatening.

"Gemini summon…" Kai said, perplexed.

"Kai, did you pay any attention during the Academy?" asked Lance. "Gemini monster seem and act like normal monster at first. But if you choose to use your one normal summon per turn to Gemini summon it, it gains an additional effect."

"That's right." Isaac said. "And this effect is very dangerous. I can attack every one of your monsters this turn. Grasschopper, destroy his monsters!" The praying mantis rushed toward the Darkblaze Dragon.

"But your Grasschopper doesn't have enough attack points to take down my Darkblaze Dragon," Kai countered.

Isaac grinned. "I activate another trap card, Strike Slash!" A purple card with a picture of a charging monster emerged. "This trap gives my monster 700 more attack points as well as piercing, so your Axe Dragonute isn't safe from me!"

Grasshopper's attack rose to 3050, and it sliced through the fiery dragon. With another slash, it cut through the axe wielding dragon. Kai braced himself as the shards of his monster flew past him. _Dammit…_

**Kai Asuka (2500) – Isaac Jones (3900)**

"Your turn," said Isaac, smugly.

"This duel is totally flipping back and forth," Yuna remarked.

"We shouldn't underestimate these guys just because they are punks," Musashi said. "Remember they got invited here because they showed some level of skill."

"Yes!" Jerome pumped his fist into the air. "Isaac got one of his best monsters out."

_I don't have the card to take that monster down. _Kai thought.

"I set one monster in defense mode!" he declared. "Your move."

"Nothing else you can do, huh?" Isaac said, as he drew. _This card is no use to me now. To bad, I don't have another Strike Slash._

"Grasschopper, attack!" The mantis spilt the facedown card in half, exposing another Masked Dragon.

"I'm sure you know what this does," Kai said. "Come out, Divine Dragon Excelion!" The silver dragon made a return appearance in defense position. _(1500/900)_

"No matter how many you bring out," Isaac said. "I will just knock them down!"

"Grasschopper, again!" The insect slash through the dragon.

"Why did Kai do that if Grasschopper can attack every monster he brings out?" Eliza asked.

"There are two likely reasons," Musashi replied. "One is to mill his deck a little in order to improve draws. The second is because he wants to send his dragon to the graveyard. Remember its effect only works if there are other copies of itself in the graveyard."

"My turn!" Kai cried. "I play a spell card, Cost Down. By discard another card in my hand, I can lower the levels of all the monsters in my hand by two. So I can summon this!" Kai placed a card on his disk. With a whirl of pixels came a golden metallic dragon. _(2400/2000) _

"Kaiser Glider, attack his Grasschopper!" The raging rush of the golden dragon defeated the giant mantis.

**Kai Asuka (2500) – Isaac Jones (3850)**

"I place this card facedown," Kai said. "And end my turn."

"Darn… one of my best monsters…" Isaac muttered. "I place one monster in facedown." The back of a card appeared in front of him.

"My turn," Kai said. "I summon Hunter Dragon in attack mode!" A small bladed dragon ran onto the field. (1700/100)

"Next, I activate my trap card, Dragon's Rage!" A continuous purple trap card rose up from the ground. "This card gives all my dragons' piercing, so your defense is useless."

"Hunter Dragon, attack!" The bladed dragon easily sliced through the facedown card. A howling noise echoed the field as the monster disappeared.

**Kai Asuka (2500) – Isaac Bugsy (3450)**

"That was my Howling Insect," said Isaac. "It has the same basic effect as your Masked Dragon except of course that I get to summon an Insect monster." Another Howling Insect appeared on the field. _(1200/1300)_

"Kaiser Gilder, crush his insect!" The dragon obeyed the command and smashed the bug with feet.

**Kai Asuka (2500) – Isaac Bugsy (2350)**

"I get to summon another monster," Isaac placed another card on his disk. "Pinch Hopper!" A small green grasshopper hopped onto the field. _(1000/1200)_

"Your move," Kai said, warily. _That card…If he has a high level monster in his hand, it is not going to be pretty_

"Seems like Kai is back in control," Lance remarked.

"Lance, you forgot about Pinch Hopper," Yuna said. "When it is sent from the field to the graveyard, Isaac gets to special summon any Insect from his hand."

Isaac grinned. "I play the spell card, Eradicating Aerosol to destroy all insects on the field!" A wicked looking had sprayed insect repellant over the field. Pinch Hopper cringed and burst into pixels.

_Damn…_Kai thought. _He destroyed his own monster to activate the effect._

"Now since my Pinch Hopper was destroyed, I get to summon my Metal Armored Bug from my hand!" A massive metal beetle lumbered onto the field. Its size easily outclassed Kai's dragons. _(2800/1500)_

"Attack his Hunter Dragon!" The gigantic beetle smashed the small dragon. The force of the blow shook the ground.

**Kai Asuka (1400) – Isaac Bugsy (2350)**

"You're almost finished," Isaac said. "End turn."

"Nice moves, Isaac." Jerome cheered.

"I'm not finished yet," Kai said. He looked over his hand but it didn't look too good. Surprisingly, he just drew the card that his mom gave him. Too bad, it doesn't seem to be able to turn the duel around for him.

"I switch my Kaiser Glider to defense mode," Kai said. _If he draws another monster I'm done for…_

"Hang in there," Lance murmured.

"Come on, get a monster, Isaac!" Jerome yelled.

"Is that all you got?" Issac asked, smirking. He looked at the card he just drew. _Darn, useful but not a monster…_

"Metal Armored Bug, crush his dragon!" The metallic insect plowed over the golden dragon. However the golden dragon wouldn't admit defeat. With a final push it threw the armored bug off of it. Roaring at the disappearing insect, it vanished into pixels as well.

"Argh!" Russell shouted. "Isaac! You idiot!"

"What?" Isaac said. "What just happened?"

"When my Kaiser Gilder is destroyed, I can return one monster to your hand," explained Kai. "And of course, I just returned your Metal Armored Bug."

Lance cheered, "Nice!"

Yuna smiled. "That guy is all talk. I can't believe he fell for that."

Isaac growled. "Fine, I end my turn with one card facedown."

_Come on, _Kai prayed. _A good draw…_

"I summon Lancer Dragonute!" A green winged dragon with a lance appeared on the field. _(1500/1800)_

"You're wide open!" Kai yelled. "Lancer Dragonute! Direct attack!" The winged dragon charged ahead with its lance poised to strike.

"I am not as wide open as you think!" shouted Isaac. "I activate Negate Attack!" A vortex of wind nullified the attack.

Kai muttered. "I suppose it isn't supposed to be getting easier. I end my turn."

"My move," Isaac said, as he drew a card. He laughed wildly when he saw what it was. "This card will spell your doom! I remove two insect monsters from my graveyard to summon my ultimate beast, Doom Dozer!"

The ground vibrated and shook as a mammoth pink worm burrowed its way out of the ground. It bellowed loudly, saliva dripping from its gaping mandibles. _(2800/1600)_

"Kai is in big trouble," Eliza said.

."Kai!" Lance shouted.

"Crush him, Isaac!" Jerome yelled.

"Doom Dozer, attack!" The gigantic insect fired a torrent of scathing acid at the Lancer Dragonute. It howled as it was reduce to unidentifiable heap of dust. Even Kai shook at the strength of the strike.

**Kai Asuka (100) – Isaac Bugsy (2350)**

Lance gritted his teeth. "Don't give up, Kai!"

Yuna muttered, "That was one lucky draw."

"Luck…More like will," Musashi pointed out. "It is normal for draws to improve during the end game. By now, the amount of cards left in deck is smaller, allowing better cards to remain inside. The probability for better draws is greater."

"But luck is not the only thing that matters. It is will," he continued. "Do you notice how many people give up during tournaments? Surprisingly a shocking number of them could have save themselves with the next card. However they chose not to because they don't believe.

"Perhaps the Heart of the Cards is just a level of one's will, the level of one's complete trust in their decks."

Isaac chuckled. Victory was just about to be his. With over 2000 more life points than his opponent, how can he lose?

"Oh just give it up!" he shouted at Kai. "There is no way you can beat me now. One pathetic little card wouldn't change anything!"

Russell chuckled. "Admit it Kai. It's over."

Kai took a deep breath and placed his hand on his deck. "Thanks for the advice."

"Oh my god," Eliza said. "Is he really going to – "

"Never!" Lance snapped. "Kai never gives up. Just look at his eyes. Do you think a loser would have does kind of eyes?"

Yuna stared at Kai. Lance was right. Kai's eyes burned with a furious intensity. He doesn't want to lose without a fight.

"Draw!" Kai shouted.

"Not giving up?" Isaac asked.

"Nope, never in the face of people like you," Kai replied. "It is people like you that make me want to fight harder. People that don't believe, people that ruin my fun, people that don't trust in the cards that serve them, I will show you. I will show you all that I can win!"

"I play the spell card, Pot of Greed!" A green grinning pot floated onto the field.

"This is it," Musashi said. "The final draw."

"Go on," Isaac said, still smirking. "Draw your last pathetic cards."

"Like a great duelist once said," Kai said. "My deck has no pathetic cards!"

"I play Swing of Memories!" Kai shouted. "This card will allow me to special summon one normal monster from my graveyard for the remainder of the turn." _Thanks, mom._

"Return, Hunter Dragon!" The slim bladed dragon pounced onto the field. _(1700/100)_

"That little pipsqueak couldn't stop me," Isaac said.

"Maybe not," Kai said. "But he is really just here for a tribute. I sacrifice my Hunter Dragon to summon Divine Dragon – Excelion!" A bellowing roar echoed the field as a sliver dragon descended in front of Kai. _(1500/900)_

"My Divine Dragon gains one effect for every copy of itself in the graveyard. One of these effects gain it 1000 more attack points." The divine dragon's aura ignited. _(2500/900)_

"Still shy a few points," Isaac pointed out.

"Don't worry," Kai said. "I'm sure this card evens thing out. I play the equip card, Megamorph!" The sliver dragon's blazing aura overcastted the entire field. "This card doubles the original attack of my monster, since my life points are lower than yours" _(4000/900)_

"4000 attack points…" Isaac realized that now was a good time to brace himself in for the blow.

"Divine Dragon Excelion, attack with Divine Flame Burst!" The sliver dragon flew into the air. Rising many feet upwards, it aimed a flood of flames down at the Doom Dozer. The giant insect writhed and thrashed about as it disintegrated into ashes.

**Kai Asuka (100) – Isaac Bugsy (1150)**

"It isn't over yet," Isaac yelled. "I still have life points."

"Not quite," Kai said. "Do you know that there are actually two Divine Dragon Excelions in my graveyard? One was given as a tribute for Burst Breath and the other was destroyed by your Grasschopper."

"The second effect that my Divine Dragon acquires is the ability to attack again after it destroys one of your monsters." The divine dragon reared up for a second attack.

"Mercy…" Isaac whimpered.

"I have no mercy for people like you," Kai said, coldly.

The inferno of azure flames covered Isaac, who howled as he hit the floor.

**Kai Asuka (100) – Isaac Bugsy (0)**

* * *

"Nice dueling, Kai," Lance said, who was happy that his friend won.

"Thanks man," Kai said, taking a deep breath. He glanced at his duel bracelet, three stars. "That was rougher than I thought."

"They have gotten way better," Yuna commented. "I guess I should handle the last one."

"No, Yuna," Lance said, firmly. "This is going to be my duel."

"I almost got him…" Isaac whined.

"Almost is not enough," Russell replied, gritting his teeth. "Seems like if you want things done, you must handle in yourself."

He pulled a deck box from his belt and slotted it into his duel disk. "Now who wants to take me on?"

* * *

Drake sipped from his drink contently. Of course Kai would win. He had never doubted it. Kai always seem to have such an unnerving skill at drawing cards. Drake had experience this first hand and knew that when dueling Kai, the duel is truly never over till the last card is played.

Still Kai seemed to be using the same old cards. Sure he had never seen Swing of Memories before. But the other ones, he have seen plenty of times.

Drake swirled his drink. Hopefully the next duel would be more exciting.


	7. Chapter 7 Medieval vs Medieval

_My cards mean a lot to me._

_To me, they are my blade in battle._

_They are my shield to defend with._

_They are my companions through think and thin._

_They are the ones that stand beside me._

_They are the ones that never leave me._

_A deck of cards is not just a deck of cards._

_It is a deck of hearts._

**Chapter 07 - Medieval vs Medieval**

* * *

"So who is ready to lose?" Russell asked, smirking.

Lance stepped forward. "You're dueling me, Russell. Just like old times."

Russell chuckled. "You're be surprised how much one can change."

"En-garde!" shouted Lance; his duel disk hummed into action.

**Lance Ceres (8000) – Russell Zaman (8000)**

"You might think I am such a bad person but I will hand the first turn over to you," Russell said, smirking.

"Thanks, but I am still going to beat you." Lance drew his next card. "I summon Warrior Lady of the Wastelands." A lady in a tattered brown cloak appeared on the field. (_1100/1200)_

"I place one more card facedown and end my turn." Lance smiled. _Even if he summons something strong, I would be able to stop it with my facedown Reinforcements._

"My move!" Russell announced. "Let's starts things off with a continuous spell card, Ancient Gear Castle!" A mechanical, majestic castle rose behind Russell. Gears and torches were seen through the castle.

"An Ancient Gear deck!" Kai exclaimed.

"I prefer to call it Medieval Shadow," Russell said.

"Since when did you change your deck?" Lance asked.

"When I graduated," Russell answered. "I need to get better cards, more suitable for a true man."

"So you just threw away your old cards like that," Lance remarked.

"They were getting old," Russell replied.

Yuna realized it first. "I sure everyone knows what that means. Lance's traps wouldn't be helping him now."

Lance frowned. _She's right. Most Ancient Gear monsters have the ability to stop me from activating spells and traps when they attack._

"That's right because here comes, Ancient Gear Solider!" Russell placed a card on his duel disk. A robotic solider, with a gun in place of an arm marched onto the field. _(1300/1300)_

A torch lit up in the Ancient Gear Castle. "Because of this mighty castle behind me, my solider gains 300 attack points." The gears in the Ancient Gear Solider whirred more quickly. 1300 - 1600. "Attack his warrior!"

The solider fired his weapon at the warrior who burst into pixels.

**Lance Ceres (7500) – Russell Zaman (8000)**

"My warrior lady would definitely be avenged because when she falls in battle, I get to special summon an Earth warrior with less than 1500 attack points." Lance took a card from his deck. "Come on out, Hero Kid!" A kid in a futuristic space suit flew into view. _(300/600)_

"But wait, there is more. When one Hero Kid is special summoned to the field, I get to call his friends out too. So here comes two more Hero Kids!"

Two identical boys flew in. _(300/600) x2 _

"I am not scared of some brats in a costume," Russell chuckled. "I end my turn."

"It is not these "brats" whom you should be scared of." Lance smirked. "This is the card that you should fear. I tribute two of my Hero Kids to summon the greatest knight of all, Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

With a loud battle cry, the infamous knight charged onto the field. _(2300/2100) _His twin lances were ready for combat. A second torch lit up into the castle.

Russell burst out laughing. "What?! You still keep that trash card?! Do you would think that sorry excuse of a knight can beat me? I mean two sacrifices for something like that. Worthless. Get with the program here. You can't stay in medieval times forever."

Lance responded to Russell's snide remarks calmly. "Russell, you are not the first one to ridicule my knight. And I am sure you would not be the last. However, I promise you. In the end, it is he who shall deal you the last blow."

"First, I equip my knight with Fusion Sword Murasame Blade. This great blade would boost his attack by 800 attack points." Gaia's twin lances disappeared and a long katana appeared in his right hand. 2300 - 3100.

"Great. That equip gives it more attack points than the strongest ancient gear monster, the Ancient Gear Golem," Eliza said.

"Actually a certain Ancient Gear fusion would still have more attack," Musashi murmured.

"You mean the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem? I doubt Russell has a card that rare. There is only a five known copies and one belongs to the Crowlers family," Yuna said.

_It's true that I don't have the ultimate card but I still have enough to make up for it. _Russell thought.

"Gaia! Attack with Ancient Gear Solider!" The fierce knight charged through the machine, leaving behind a small pile of rumble.

**Lance Ceres (7500) – Russell Zaman (6500)**

"Old school or not, Russell just took a heavy blow there. Way to go, Lance!" Kai cheered.

"Your turn, Russell," Lance said.

"Draw!" Russell smiled when he saw the card he drew. "Well, since you brought out your ace, perhaps it is time to call out mine."

"I activate the second effect of my Ancient Gear Castle! You see, it gained one counter every time one of us normal summons a monster. There are two counters, meaning I could sacrifice it in place of two tributes, in order to summon this, Ancient Gear Golem!"

The castle rumbled and shook as a fearsome machine rose for its depth. The mammoth golem towered over the playing field, making Lance and his warriors feel small, very small. _(3000/3000)_

Nearby, Drake noticed something vibrate in his pocket. Taking out a card, he murmured. "Oh is this the one?"

_Holy c- _Lance thought. _Calm down, as big as it might be, it still can't beat my knight._

"You aren't the only one that can play equip cards. So I would play my own equip, the Ancient Gear Tank!" Ancient Gear Golem got onto a tank that was as titanic as it was. 3000 - 3600. "You can see it gives him 600 more attack points."

_Oh, no. He is stronger than my knight._

Russell seemed to have read Lance's thoughts. "Don't worry. His target is not your knight. It is that kid right there." He pointed the Hero Kid, kneeling down in defense.

"Attack, my Ancient Gear Golem with Mechanize Melee!" The golem merely ran the small warrior with his huge tank. Lance was thrown away by the impact.

**Lance Ceres (4500) – Russell Zaman (6500)**

"Opps. Did I forget to remind you that my Golem has a piercing ability? Your defense monsters are not safe," Russell said, smirking.

"Looks like Lance isn't getting up any time soon," Jerome smirked.

Lance got up to his feet, shaken but not out. "My move. Draw!"

"That was a powerful blow to Lance's life points," Eliza said.

"Perhaps but it was not the smartest move. Usually in this situation, Russell should have gone after Gaia instead," said Kai.

"That's right. The difference in attack is so small that Lance could easily gain the upper hand with another attack boasting card," Musashi said.

"Guess that he just got lucky that he is dueling an idiot," Yuna remarked.

"I am not giving up just yet!" Lance shouted. "I summon Command Knight!" A brightly armored knight stepped onto the battlefield. _(1200/1600)_

"When he is on the field, all warriors gain 400 attack points." 1200 - 1600. 3100 - 3500. "Also you can't attack my Command Knight unless it is the only warrior on the field."

"So what? Your Gaia still has lower attack than my Ancient Gear Golem," stated Russell.

"That's true," Lance said. "However you forgot about my facedown card. Reinforcements!" The facedown lifted up to reveal a purple card with group of armed soldiers. "I might not be able to activate spell or traps during when you attack but I can still activate it when I do."

"Lance figured out the loophole in the effect," Kai said.

"That's not all. Reinforcements give his Gaia 500 extra points, more than the Ancient Gear Golem." Eliza was right. Gaia's attack rose to 4000.

"Gaia, attack with Spiral Spear Strike!" Gaia carried the command swiftly, obliterating it into pieces. The attack caused an explosion, knocking Lance off his feet.

"Surprise! When my Ancient Gear Tank is destroyed, you lose 600 life points," Russell chuckled.

**Lance Ceres (3900) – Russell Zaman (6100)**

"Well, you are about to lose more. Command Knight, attack him directly with Burning Rave!" The knight slashed Russell down his torso. Russell did his best not to scream.

**Lance Ceres (3900) – Russell Zaman (4500)**

"My move is done, Russell," Lance said. Gaia returned to 3500 attack points.

"Damn, Russell just lost his strongest monster," Jerome muttered.

"You mean one of his strongest monsters," Isaac corrected.

"You may have taken down my ace card but tell me what kind of duelist would I be if I don't have a second copy of my most valuable card?" Russell said, "I play the spell card, Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three new cards, as long as I discard two cards afterwards." He looked over his new hand and placed two cards in the graveyard.

"Next, I use Premature Burial to bring back one of the monsters that I put in, Ancient Gear Cannon!" An old, rusty cannon appeared on the field. _(500/500)_

**Lance Ceres (3900) – Russell Zaman (3700)**

"Now for another spell card, Machine Duplication! As long as the machine I choose have less than 500 attack points, I get to special summon all additional copies of that card. So here come two more copies of my Ancient Gear Cannon!" Two more antique cannons appeared. _(500/500) x 2_

"You know, that move seem strangely familiar," said Yuna.

"It should," responded Musashi. "Special summoning small monsters as tributes. It's the same trick that Lance used to play Gaia. Which means Ancient Gear Golem is about to make a comeback."

"I sacrifice two of my Ancient Gear Cannons to summon my Ancient Gear Golem!" The colossal titan rose again. _(3000/3000) _

"I hope you are glad to see him. Because he's back for a little payback." Russell said. "But first I activate my Ancient Gear Cannon's special effect. I tribute it to inflict 500 damage on you." The cannon fired a shot at Lance.

**Lance Ceres (3400) – Russell Zaman (3700)**

"Finally I equip my Ancient Gear Golem with Ancient Gear Fist." A bulky fist replaced the golem's right hand. "That's it. I end my turn."

"What are you doing, Russell?" shouted Isaac.

_That was a strange play. He played all those cards just to play his golem and not attack? And what does that Ancient Gear Fist do? It didn't add any attack what so ever. _Lance pondered on this as he drew his next card. _For now I will wait. I can't be sending my knights to their doom just yet._ "I move my Command Knight into defense mode." The warrior crouched with his shield raised. "I also set one monster facedown and end my turn."

_Not attacking, huh. Oh well, looks like I just have to come to you. _Russell drew a card from his disk. "I play the spell card, Pot of Greed!" The smiling green pot floated in front of him as he drew two cards.

"I play Monster Reborn!" The holy ankh rose in the air. "Come back, Ancient Gear Solider!" The solider returned to the battlefield. _(1300/1300)_

"It's only going to here for a while," said Russell. "Because I sacrifice it to play my Ancient Gear Beast!" With a growl, the robotic canine prowled onto the field. (_2000/2000)_

"Time for a little payback. Ancient Gear Golem, attack his Gaia the Fierce Knight!" The golem obeyed, wordlessly. Its right fist flew off and rocketed towards Gaia. Dodging it, the fierce knight drove his sword through the golem for a second time, littering the field with rumble.

**Lance Ceres (3400) – Russell Zaman (3200)**

Suddenly the rocket fist made a sharp turn and smashed into Gaia. Gaia yelled and burst into pixels.

"What?! My Gaia had more attack!" Lance cried.

"True, but this is the effect of my Ancient Gear Fist. It automatically destroys the monster that the equipped monster battles with at the end of the battle," Russell explained.

"Now, Ancient Gear Beast, attack his Command Knight!" The ancient beast pounced on the warrior and the knight was no more.

"Make you move," Russell said.

"Your mistake. You really should have attacked my facedown card." Lance smiled. "I play a spell card, Warrior Returning Alive to place my Gaia back to hand."

"So what? That card needs two sacrifices and you only have one." Russell said.

"Just because I have one monster doesn't mean I have one sacrifices. I will reveal my facedown monster, The Trojan Horse!" A wooden horse much like the one that invaded Troy appeared on the field. _(1600/1200)_

"My Trojan Horse counts as two sacrifices when I tribute it for an Earth monster, which my Gaia is," Lance said. "Come on out, Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

The brave knight returned for a second round. _(2300/2100)_

"Gaia, attack his Ancient Gear Beast." The beast was trampled over by the knight's mighty rush.

**Lance Ceres (3400) – Russell Zaman (2900)**

"Good job, Lance!" Kai said. "He kept his cool and brought back his best card."

"Russell is in trouble if he doesn't get anything good," Jerome said, worried

Russell tried to hide his shaking hands as he drew his next card. _Nice. _"I set one monster facedown and end my turn."

"I active a spell card, Spiral Spear Strike!" A continuous spell card with a picture of Gaia on it appeared on the field. "This card gives my knight piercing abilities, so your facedown card can't protect your life points. Gaia, attack!"

Gaia struck the facedown card with his lance. It was a madly crackling jar.

**Lance Ceres (3400) – Russell Zaman (1200)**

"You just flipped my Morphing Jar. Now we discard our hands and draw five new cards. I have no cards in my hand so I will just make five draws." Russell quickly drew five cards.

"That card definitely helped Russell out. He got a full hand back and now can play some more devastating combos." Musashi said.

"True, but Lance gets to use his cards first." Yuna said.

Lance was glad for that effect as well. The two cards in his hand were not much help. Drawing five cards, he chose one and played it. "I activate A. Forces. For every warrior or spellcaster on the field, my warriors gain 200 attack points. So my Gaia now has 2500 attack points."

"A whole lot of good that would do you," Russell muttered, sarcastically.

"Well maybe these cards would help me. I place three cards facedown." Three facedown cards materialized behind Gaia. _There is one card in every machine deck that could totally turn this duel around. If he plays it, I must be ready. _Lance thought.

"My move." Russell said. "Ready to say your prayers? Because this is the last turn for you. I play Ancient Gear Workshop which takes an Ancient Gear monster from my graveyard and put it in my hand." He took a card from his graveyard.

"That's kind of like Warrior Returning Alive, except for Ancient Gears." Eliza said.

"Want to bet what Russell took back?" Kai asked.

"Next I play the spell card, Ancient Gear Factory!" Russell held the card up. "The effect is a bit complicated so I will explain first. First, I choose one monster in my hand. I chose Ancient Gear Golem, who I got back with my last card. Now since its level is 8, I have remove monsters from my graveyard whose levels added up to 16 or more. If I do so, I get to normal summon my Ancient Gear Golem with any tribute."

"So I remove three Ancient Gear Cannons, level 2 each, one level 4 Ancient Gear Soldier and one level 6 Ancient Gear Beast from my graveyard. That adds up to level 16 exactly. So here he comes again, Ancient Gear Golem!" The titan loomed over the field, once more. _(3000/3000) _

'This is the third time he summoned his golem." Eliza said, "That thing doesn't know when to stay down."

"Let's hope Lance can take it down this time," said Yuna.

"I am not done just yet. I play the spell card, Double Summon. This let me summon another monster, an old acquaintance, Ancient Gear Soldier!" The robotic gunman returned to the field. _(1300/1300) _

"Finally the card that will spell your doom, Limiter Removal!" Russell began laughing.

"Lance is doomed!" Isaac smiled.

"Shoot. I was hoping that card wouldn't pop up." Kai said. "I sure everyone knows what that does."

Musashi explained the effect, "Every machine on Russell's field has their attack doubled. But they are destroyed at the end of the turn. But, it seems like Lance doesn't have enough life points to survive this turn."

"Not so fast, Russell!" Lance shouted. "I was ready for that. I chain Emergency Provisions! I discard my Spiral Spear Strike, A Forces, and my facedown Draining Shield." The cards disappeared in sparkles of light. "This increases my life points my 3000!"

**Lance Ceres (6400) – Russell Zaman (1200)**

"Now give me your best shot!" Lance shouted. Ancient Gear Solider rose to 2600 attack while Ancient Gear Golem rose to 6000.

Russell smiled, "My pleasure… Ancient Gear Soldier, take out his knight!" The valiant knight fell to the hail of bullets.

**Lance Ceres (6100) – Russell Zaman (1200)**

Russell grinned. "Ancient Gear Golem, crush him!"

"Lance!" Kai cried.

The menacing golem crushed Lance with his fist. Lance screamed; the blow felt as if a skyscraper fell on him

**Lance Ceres (100) – Russell Zaman (1200)**

Lance forced himself back on his feet. A knight doesn't fall as long as he still has the will to fight.

"Oh, that one got to hurt," Jerome said.

"Don't worry," Kai said. "Lance is still in this."

"At least Lance could still make a comeback. Russell's field would be clear when he ends his turn." Yuna said.

"That's right," Russell said. "When I _end_ my turn. I still have one more card to play." Looking over at Lance, he laughed. "When I play this, you would be wishing that you lost from my last attack."

"I play Ancient Gear Explosive!"

"No!" Kai yelled. The others were shocked as well.

"That card…" Musashi said. "He can tribute one Ancient Gear monster and Lance would lose half of its original attack points!"

"This is it, Lance! Perish in my golem's fiery finale!" Russell laughed wildly as the Ancient Gear Golem held Lance's in its grip. Lance stared at the number sequence on the golem's chest, watching as it moved backwards.

5…

4…

3…

"Lance!" Kai shouted

2…

"Ha ha ha ha!" Russell laughed.

1…

"Lance!" cried Eliza.

0…

With a roar, the vast conflagration blew around the field. The noise thundered throughout the alleyways. The flames blew themselves out and the only noise that you could hear was the Russell's cracking laughter.

The others were in silent, stunned that their friend has lost. Suddenly, Eliza pointed towards the clearing smoke, "Look!"

There he was, standing tall. The explosions didn't even fazed Lance.

**Lance Ceres (100) – Russell Zaman (1200)**

"How…how the hell is this possible?" Russell stepped back, dazed.

"I know…I know what kind of duelist you are." Lance said. "You are a coward."

He continued, "That is why you used machines. You don't feel bad at all when you order them around, sending them recklessly against my monsters. You don't care how many of them are sent to the graveyard as long as you win. You just stand on the sidelines, waiting for the fight to be over so you can claim victory."

"So… what?!" Russell responded angrily. "It's not like you don't do the same!"

"No…" Lance answered. "My heart is with my monsters. When one of my warriors falls, I feel it in here." He pointed towards his heart. "When they charge into battle, my heart cheers for them. Just as I do my best to protect them, they do the same for me. A deck with a heart in it can't lose to a heartless deck like yours."

"The last facedown was a trap called Fusion Guard. By randomly discarding one fusion monster, I can negate all effect damage. So your Ancient Gear Explosive was useless," explained Lance.

"Yeah. You showed him, Lance!" Kai shouted. The others voiced their approval as well.

Russell was silent. He waved his hand, ending his turn. His Ancient Gear Solider crumbled.

"My move," said Lance. His tone was serious, like a judge preparing to state the verdict. "I play Pot of Greed." The familiar green pot appeared as Lance drew two cards.

"You must be wondering what kind of fusion is a warrior deck," said Lance. "I know most warrior decks don't have fusions but mine is different. I play Polymerization!"

"By fusing two cards in my hand, Gaia the Fierce Knight and Curse of Dragon… I summon Gaia the Dragon Champion!" A shadow passed over the field. Overhead, a yellow dragon with a knight mounted on its back dived down. Gaia had found himself a new steed. _(2600/2100)_

Russell backed away, only to find a wall behind him.

"It's over!" Lance shouted. "Gaia the Dragon Champion! Attack with Spiral Dragon Lance!" The dragon champion soared towards Russell. Pinned against the wall, Russell took the full force of the knight's grand charge.

**Lance Ceres (100) – Russell Zaman (0)**

Turning around, Gaia nodded in respect towards his owner. Lance smiled and nodded back, expressing his thanks. The holograms faded away.

Isaac and Jerome rushed over to Russell and help him get up to his feet. Russell was fierce. "This is not the last time you will see me, Lance. You might have won today but I still have one star. I will come back and hunt you down!" He stalked off, followed by Isaac and Jerome.

Lance groan. "Those guys just don't know when to quit. They're going to come back and then –"

"And then we are going to kick their asses again," Kai added, cheerfully. "Don't worry, Lance. We can definitely handle them."

"You're right, Kai," Lance smiled.

"Well, I think that was enough duels for one day," Kai said. "Come on let's go to my house for dinner."

"Yes! I get to try out Kai's mom great cooking again!" Lance said.

"Are we going, Musashi?" Yuna asked her brother. He nodded in agreement.

"So I guess it is settled. Eliza, you can come too." Kai said.

"Is it really okay?" she asked.

"Yea, don't worry about it. My mom wouldn't mind serving one extra person." Kai added, "Also starting now, you're one of our friends. So relax."

"That's right," Lance agreed.

"Okay," Eliza said. "I will come too."

* * *

Now that was a good duel. Drake watched satisfied. He had always respected Lance. Lance was a great duelist that stuck to his heart rather than his head. This duel really surprised him. Russell has gotten much better than usually. Maybe he is just copying Vellian Crowler, but the new deck did have some real potential.

He placed the money for the drink on the table. He wondered if Russell would be happy to see him. Either way, he knew a card that would.


	8. Chapter 8 Dark Dealings

Okay. Before you, readers started picking up your forks and torches and guns, let me apologize for being so late. It has been three months since I last updated. THREE months! Since everyone is probably dieing to for the next chapter already, I will save my excuses at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 08 – Dark Dealings**

"So welcome to my humble home," Kai Asuka announced, standing on the doorstep of his house. His friends stood behind him, looking over the house.

"It's been a while since I have last been here," Lance Ceres remarked.

"Yea, I know." Kai replied. "School had been keeping us busy."

"Can we please get inside?" Yuna Kenshi cried out. "Sorry but I am getting a bit hungry now."

"Fine, fine." Kai said, fishing his pockets for the keys. With them, he opened the door and they entered.

"Take off your shoes," he said, throwing his own into the hallway. He went into his kitchen and found his mom there, busy preparing dinner.

"Mom, I'm back. Oh, and I brought some friends over."

"Oh, Kai. Welcome home. Who did you bring over?"

Lance and Yuna greeted Kai's mother.

She wiped her hands on her apron. "Lance and Yuna…I remember you two. Kai's friends back at the Academy. And these are?"

Eliza Troy waved. "Hi. I'm Eliza Troy. I'm Yuna's friend."

"Well. It seem like you are one of our friends too." His mother said.

Musashi Kenshi introduced himself. "I'm Musashi Kenshi. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Asuka."

"Ah, such nice manners for a nice young man. I would be glad if Kai learn something from you." Kai blushed and turned away.

"May I ask if you are by any chance, Angela Kira…the Red Eyes Maiden?" Musashi asked, politely.

Angela smiled. "That was my old nickname. You have been watching old duel records haven't you?"

Eliza was surprised. "Wow, you were a very famous Pro League duelist."

"That was then, this is now," Angela said, brushing away the comment. "Now I am a single mother raising her kid."

"By the way, you guys came at the right time. I will have dinner ready in just a bit. Make yourself comfortable."

Kai lead his friends into the living room.

"You never told me his mother was a big hotshot duelist," Eliza whispered to Yuna.

Yuna shrugged. "Sorry but it never came up in our conversations."

"Even I am a bit surprised," Musashi said. "But I should have known. You too have the same style."

"What do you mean by that?" Kai asked.

"Not nothing really," Musashi said, dismissively. "It's just that the way you two behave in a duel seems very similar. At least on tapes it does."

* * *

Russell kicked a soda can out of his path. It was getting dark. Isaac and Jerome had already gone home. Neither of them were able to recover from their pervious loss and were now just back to one star. _Damn Lance and his friends… When you get one lost, more just keep coming._

"Long time no see, Russell."

Russell whirled around at the sound of his name. Surprised, he muttered. "What are you doing here, Drake?"

Drake chuckled. "I think that is obvious. I am in this tournament as well."

"No, I mean what are you, doing talking to me. I don't think the high mighty Dragon Lord, Drake Lewis needs to be talking to me." Russell explained, with sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Why do I need an excuse to meet up with an old friend?" Drake raised his Duel Disk. "How about a duel?"

Russell knew the outcome of that duel. Things were going to be over fast….for him. "I don't think I have a reason to duel you."

"A reason…?" Drake smiled. "Perhaps I have something you need, something you can use to beat that second rate knight, Lance."

"Just hearing that name make my blood boil," Russell muttered. "You got yourself a duel, Drake!"

Drake smirked. _5 minutes…_

_That would be all I need_…

* * *

Dinner was over and the five friends sat ion the living room floor, each with a bowl of strawberry ice cream. Kai's mom had finish cleaning up and retired to her studio.

"What does your mom do by the way?" Eliza asked Kai.

Pulling the spoon out of his mouth, Kai replied. "Like you guys know, she used to be a Pro League Duelist but now she works at card designing."

"Speaking of cards, Eliza," Lance said. "I was surprised to see that you have Airknight and Neo Paladin Parashath in your deck. Those are extremely rare cards. How did you get them?"

"Oh them. Well they were a birthday gift from my brother." Eliza said, taking a bite from her dessert. "Hmm, this ice cream is pretty good."

"Glad you like it," Kai said. "It is actually home made ice cream. My mom has a secret recipe. Your brother must be pretty well off to get you cards like those."

"Oh, I forgot I didn't tell you guys yet," Yuna said. "Her brother is the Pro League duelist, Paris Troy." She carefully picked a strawberry out of ice cream and popped it into her mouth.

"Paris Troy? The same one who played against you in the finals, Musashi?" Lance asked.

"Yea, the one and only," Musashi said. "He won that duel. I was hoping for a rematch in this tournament."

"I heard he dropped out soon afterwards," Kai added. "What happened?"

"Well," Eliza started. "My brother was born with a harmful condition. When he was younger, it didn't wear him down that much but as he got older, his body just couldn't hold up sometimes. He is recovering in the hospital now."

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that," Kai responded.

"It's ok," Eliza said. "I entered the tournament in place of my brother. I was hoping that I could show my brother that I wouldn't let him down."

"So, he helped you create your deck." Lance wiped a bit of cream from the corner of his mouth.

"When I was younger, my father and mother both died in a car accident. My brother was the only there to take care of me. He worked hard; finishing school and working part time at the same time. Times were rough until he found a place in the Pro Leagues." Eliza fidgeted with her spoon for a while before continuing. "I remember when I was younger; I asked my brother where mom and dad went. He said that they became angels and will forever watch over us. Perhaps that was what inspired me to make this fairy deck."

For a while, there was a long silence except for the often clink of silverware,

Eliza noticed the change of mood her story caused and said. "Oh, guys don't get all serious like that. So Lance what is the story behind your deck? Gaia the Fierce Knight is quite a strange choice."

"Well, my dad was the one that I got the idea from," Lance explained. "He uses the three royal knights; Jack, Queen, King. But rather than copying him, I decided to choose a different knight to master. Gaia the Fierce Knight seemed to be a horrible choice at first and I did have many bumps along my path to make this deck. But I'm happy with what I got."

Kai smiled. "I remember the first time you dueled me with that deck. It has come a long way since then."

"I remember that duel," Lance said. "I almost beat you but you managed to summon back Divine Dragon Excelion." He sighed. "That was a good duel."

"Divine Dragon Excelion…" Eliza muttered. "That isn't a very well appreciated dragon now a day. Interesting choice of cards."

"I know," Kai said. "Like Lance, I was inspired by my parents. My mom was famous for her Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, while my father was most famous for his Felgrand Dragon; one of darkness and one of light. So I made my dragon deck based on that principle. Other than the Masked Dragons and my Darkblaze Dragon, I chose to only use light and dark dragons."

"That is actually a pretty cool idea," Eliza said.

"What I think is cool," Kai directed his focus on Musashi. "are your Six Samurais. Those are a wicked nice set of cards."

Musashi chuckled. "Thanks. These cards are like a family heirloom. My father used them in his dueling career and now I inherit the cards for him."

"It must be quite an honor," Lance said. "Seems like you lucked out, Yuna,"

"Yea, maybe," Yuna shrugged. "There is only one Six Samurais deck, so only the oldest child can get it. But I am quite happy with my own deck. It is a family tradition to use warriors, so I made this level warrior deck. I just love these little guys."

Kai smiled, as he finished his last spoonful of strawberry ice cream. _It seems like everyone has a story behind their decks. One way or another, it is our families that created our decks. Our family ideals runs in our cards…_

_

* * *

_

_It's over… and much sooner than I thought_. Russell fell on his knees as the flaming pieces of his Ancient Gear Golem fell around him. As they hit the ground, they disappeared into pixels.

Drake stood at the other side of the street. His loyal Tyrant Dragon slowly disappeared from view, leaving the street dark expect for the faint glow of the streets lamps.

_Damn it…Why did I duel him? _Russell pounded the street with his fist. _I could have easily won against an easier opponent. It is suicide to fight with Drake._

He looked up, seeing a hand offered to him. He knocked it away. "I don't need your pity, Drake."

"When one journey ends, another begins. Come, Russell Zaman…" Drake held a card out to Russell.

Cautiously, Russell accepted the card. In the gloom, he could see it have a monster card. Suddenly he felt a tremor from the ground. He could move, paralyzed by the force of the shockwave. _Is it because of this card?_

Drake watched stoically. _I guess I found the right one._

_

* * *

  
_

"Are you guys sure you will be fine walking home at night?" Kai asked.

"Hey don't worry, Kai," Yuna answered. Trying to reassure him, she added. "I got my big bro with me. No one would mess with me when he is around."

"And Eliza would be safe with us," Yuna said. "We would get her home first."

"I guess…" Kai muttered.

"Hey, Kai, where did you put your extra sleeping bag?" Lance shouted from inside the house.

Kai leaned back into the house and shouted. "It's at the top part of the closet, behind the winter coats!"

"Lance is sleeping over?" Yuna asked.

"Yea," Kai replied. "Well, I guess I would see you guys tomorrow."

"Yep, at Domino Square like we planned before." She waved as she stepped down the steps.

"Bye and thanks for dinner!" Eliza said. Musashi merely waved good bye.

Kai watch them walk down the street before he went to help Lance find the sleeping bag.

* * *

Drake stood patiently by the street corner, waiting for someone to pick up their phone. It picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hello,"

"You must be busy tonight," Drake commented.

"Oh you know me too well, Drake," a voice replied.

"I found the Envoy that you assigned to me," Drake said.

"Nice work," the man on the other side complimented. "Quite fast too."

"I was lucky." Drake added, "It happened to be someone I know."

"Oh, I see."

"So," Drake asked, "What are you doing on a night like this?"

The man chuckled. "Like you said, I was busy."

"Busy looking for a duel."

* * *

"It's a lovely night tonight."

Musashi whirled around at the sound of that voice. Something about it sent a chill down his back. It was from a tall man in a black long coat, a hat covered much of his face. But Musashi could see that he was in the 40's range.

The man tipped his hat. "Wouldn't you agree…Musashi Kenshi?"

"How do you know my name?" Musashi asked carefully. _This guy could be a stalker._

"Who doesn't know the name of the famous samurai master?" The man was now about five feet away.

"What do you want?"

The man chuckled. "A duel."

**Musashi Kenshi (8000) – ??? (8000)**

"Who are you?" Musashi questioned as he drew his opening hand.

"Names are not really important," the man answered, dismissively as he looked over his cards. "But you may call me Alastor. Leon Alastor."

"I suppose you like picking on duelists at night." Musashi said.

"What do you mean by that?" Alastor replied. "I was just taking a walk in the night."

"But let's end the chit chat, shall we?" He declared. "I place one monster facedown and place one card facedown."

"Your move, Kenshi,"

Musashi drew wordlessly. _His words seem innocent but something about him is just unnerving. _"I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode!" A young armored warrior leapt onto the field. (1200/1000)

"Now his special effect activates, allowing me to summon another monster from my hand." The Marauding Captain brandished his sword as a yellow armored archer appeared. (1300/800)

"Ahh, isn't that the Six Samurai – Yaichi?" Alastor smiled. "I was always a fan of your duels, Musashi."

"Save you sweet talk," Musashi muttered under his breath. "I activate the spell card, Monster Gate!" A glowing blue gateway opened behind Marauding Captain. "By tributing my Marauding Captain, I can discard cards from the top of my deck until I can find a monster I can summon to the field."

Musashi began taking cards off the top of his decks. His eyes skimmed across several spells and traps before reaching a monster. "Come forth, Six Samurai – Nisashi!"

With a gust of wind, the green samurai flew out of the gateway. (1400/700)

"Since I have two Six Samurai, I can activate their special abilities. Go, Yaichi!" The bowman fired an arrow at Alastor's facedown card, shattering it into pieces.

"Yes!" Yuna cheered. "Yaichi's effect got rid of his trap, Mirror Force."

"Now, Nisashi attack!" The swift samurai slashed through the facedown monster. A scarlet colored monster was sliced in half.

"That was Scarr, Scout of the Dark World." Alastor explained. "His death allows me to add one level four or lower Dark World monster from my deck to my hand." He picked out a card from his deck.

_Dark World…_"Fine, but my Nisashi can attack again. Nisashi, direct attack!" The dual wielding samurai struck Alastor in the stomach.

**Musashi Kenshi (8000) – Leon Alastor (6600)**

"Alright, Musashi got a great lead," said Yuna.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn," Musashi declared. _Who is this guy? The Dark World archetype is quite hard to get. According to rumors, Maxillenium Pegasus discontinued the archetype after having some freakish nightmares about them. He isn't a normal duelist to have obtained them._

"Very nice," Alastor commented, unfazed by the attack. "Quite the fight I am expecting from you."

"I play the spell card, Card of Safe Return!" A green card materialized in front of Alastor. "Now every time a monster is special summoned from my graveyard, I can draw one card."

"Next the spell card, Cheerful Coffin, which allows me to discard three cards in my hand." Alastor slid three cards in his graveyard.

"What a weird move," Eliza murmured. "He just threw away almost his entire hand."

"Because that is how the Dark World works," Musashi explained. "Their effects only work if they are discarded to the graveyard from the hand."

"Exactly," Alastor said, grinning. "Seems like you did some research on your spare time. I have discarded three monsters with Cheerful Coffin, all with different effects. So pay attention as I explain each one."

"First up, when this monster is sent to the graceyard, I can special summon him the graveyard. Come, Beiige, Vanguard of the Dark World." With a puff of black smoke, a spear wielding fiend marched onto the field. (1600/1300)

"And of course, Card of Safe Return activates and I draw one card," Alastor added the new card in his hand.

"The next card that I discarded is Broww, Huntsman of the Dark World. When he is discarded, I can draw another card." He made another draw.

"Finally, the last monster was a card known as Kahkki, Guerilla of the Dark World. When he is discarded, I can destroy one monster on the field!" A small knife wielding monster appeared from the dark and charged at Nisashi.

"Yaichi, defend!" The archer drew himself in the path of the assailant and took the blow, bursting into pixels.

"If one of my Six Samurai is going to be destroyed, I can use another Six Samurai to protect them," clarified Musashi. "It's going to take more than hit and run tactics to take down my samurais."

"Ahh, well then, let's move on to all out assault." Alastor answered. "I summon Zure, Knight of the Dark World!" A fiendish knight with a blue warblade stepped into view. (1800/1600)

"Beiige, take care of his lone samurai." The guard stabbed through the armored samurai.

**Musashi Kenshi (7800) – Leon Alastor (6600)**

"Zure, direct attack!" The knight slashed across Musashi's chest. He groaned but remained on his feet.

**Musashi Kenshi (6000) – Leon Alastor (6600)**

"Good show of strength," Alastor said. "I see that you are used to taking direct attacks."

"I guess, Musashi isn't up against a wimp this time," Yuna muttered.

"Go, Swiftstrike Armor. " Musashi said, as a purple card rose up. It showed a picture of a blue suit of armor.

"Oh, a trap card." Alastor smiled. "What surprises to you have in store for me? "

"Draw!" Musashi quickly analyzed his opponent. _This guy is not half bad. He knew that while the Dark World cards can swarm quickly, it can also quickly deplete his hand. But with a well placed Card of Safe Return, he is maintaining a good hand advantage._

"I activate the effect of my Swiftstrike Armor. Since the card, that I just drew was a Six Samurai, I can special summon it to the field. Appear, Six Samurai Yariza!" The azure blue lancer dashed onto the field. (1000/500)

"And he will not be alone. I summon Six Samurai Zanji!" The fearsome samurai brandished his shining halberd through the air. (1800/1300)

"Yariza attack him directly!" The blue samurai leaped over Alastor's monsters, stabbing him with his azure spear. Alastor was knocked back by the strike.

**Musashi Kenshi (6000) – Leon Alastor (5600)**

"In case you didn't figure it out yet, my Yariza can attack you directly as long as there is another Six Samurai on the field." Musashi explained.

"Zanji! Attack his Beiige!" The red samurai easily cut through the fiend.

**Musashi Kenshi (6000) – Leon Alastor (5400)**

"Your turn, Alastor."

"Draw!" Alastor looked over his hand.

"Well, let's start off with a spell card, known as Dark World Dealings." He said. "With this special card, both players must discard and draw one card."

"I guess that helps you more than it helps me," Musashi said, as he placed a card in his graveyard.

"You bet it does," Alastor grinned. "The card that I discarded was Gren, Tactian of the Dark World. When he is discarded, I can destroy one spell or trap on the field. So say goodbye to your Swiftstrike Armor."

Musashi watched as his trap card shattered into pieces. Both duelists made one draw.

"Zure, finish off his Yariza." The dark knight swatted down the lance wielder.

**Musashi Kenshi (5200) – Leon Alastor (5400)**

"Next, I place this card facedown," said Alastor.

"Musashi seems to be having a hard time," Eliza said.

"He's just being cautious. Musashi have never faced a Dark World deck before." Yuna reassured herself.

"My move," Musashi said. "I summon Spirit of the Six Samurai!" A glowing blue set of armor appeared on the field. It seems to be animated by an unknown force. (500/500)

"Spirit of the Six Samurai is a union monster meaning that I can equip him onto another Six Samurai." The spirit flowed into Zanji. The samurai changed his stance as a glowing aura surrounded him. (2300/1800)

"Zanji, attack Zure!" With newfound strength, the samurai slashed through the barbaric knight.

**Musashi Kenshi (5200) – Leon Alastor (4900)**

"Not only does the Spirit of the Six Samurai give my warrior a 500 points boost, but when Zanji destroys a monster in battle, I get to draw one card." Musashi made one draw.

"Your move, Alastor." Musashi said.

"Draw!" Alastor shouted. He peruse over his hand. "Seems like there is nothing I can do. I end my turn."

"That's weird." Eliza said. "He couldn't even play a monster. Is this some sort of trick?"

"He only had one card facedown." Yuna noticed. "He didn't activate it last turn. So it's safe for Musashi to attack right?"

_Unless, he is trying to save it for something more worthwhile…_Musashi thought.

"I summon Six Samurai Irou!" Out of the shadows burst a new samurai, a blindfolded samurai in violet armor, wielding a katana. _(1700/1200)_

"Irou, strike!" The blind samurai lunged forward, fearlessly.

"It's not going to be that easy, kiddo." Alastor chuckled. "I have a facedown card, Fine!

"Oh shoot, it was a trap." Yuna realized.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad," Alastor said. "All it does is forces me to discard two cards from my hand."

With a crackle of lightning, two menacing figures appeared in the dark. One was in sliver armor with a large warblade. The other donned on gold armor and held a large ax. (2300/1400) x 2

"Of course that translates into two new monsters for me," Alastor laughed. "Meet Sliva, Warlord of the Dark World and Glodd, Wu-Lord of the Dark World."

The dark samurai stopped in his tracks and leaped back next to his comrade.

"Now I will draw two new cards from Card of the Safe Return." Alastor quickly made two draws.

Musashi stared at the field for a moment before shouting "Zanji, attack Sliva!" The orange armored samurai leap upwards and brought his halberd down on the warlord. There was a great explosion. Zanji leapt back, panting hard but unharmed.

"The Spirit of the Six Samurai protected my Zanji from destruction. Too bad, I can't say the same about your Sliva." Musashi said. "I also draw one card from my Spirit's effect."

"That's my brother." Yuna said. "Always planning ahead. Through he had weakened his own samurai; he took out one of the enemies as well."

"Now, let's take this battle to somewhere a bit more fitting. Shien's Castle of Mist." A dark castle rose behind Musashi. A damp mist began to creep into the field. Far away a crow cried.

"I like your taste." Alastor commented. "Nice scenery."

"This is the right place to hold a duel like this." Musashi replied. "The Six Samurai have to defend their lord's castle every day and night. A battle here against your fiends is just other night's work for my samurais."

"I place this card facedown and end my turn."

"Don't relax, Musashi." Alastor warned. "I still have a couple of tricks up my sleeves."

"Glodd, attack Irou!" The wu lord crushed the samurai with his large double axe.

**Musashi Kenshi (5100) – Leon Alastor (4900)**

"In Shien's Castle, all monsters attacking my Six Samurais will have their attack points decreased my 500. So your Glodd only did 100 damage," explained Musashi.

"Fine. I am done with attacks for now, so let's move onto Main Phase 2," Alastor said. "I set one monster facedown." A facedown card appeared in front of him.

"But I am not done." Alastor said. "I activate Dark World Lightning in order to destroy my own facedown monster."

A bolt of lightning struck the facedown card, which turns out to be a Sangan.

"I destroyed my own Sangan, allowing me to place one monster with less than 1500 attack into my hand." Alastor showed the card to Musashi, who groaned at the sight of it.

"Can you see what he got?" Eliza asked.

"I think it is a Morphing Jar," Yuna answered. "That could be bad news since Morphing Jar forces both players to discard their hand and draw five new cards."

"That means more Dark World monsters," Eliza realized.

Alastor grinned. _If only the plan was that simple…_

"An additional effect that my Dark World Lightning has is that it forces me to discard one card from my hand." Alastor placed a card into has graveyard.

Thunder rumbled as a spear wielding fiend marched into the field and crouched down in defense. (1600/1300)

"Another Beiige," Musashi muttered.

"And I will draw one card from Card of Safe Return," Alastor said. "Looks like I will play this card facedown and end turn." A card appeared in front of him.

Musashi smiled when he saw the card he drew. "I special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai!" A wizened old warrior leaped onto the field. (2100/800)

"Woah, how did Musashi get such a strong monster on the field without a sacrifice?" Eliza wondered.

"When he has at least one Six Samurai on the field, he can special summon their teacher to the field," Yuna explained.

"I activate Swift Samurai Storm." A continuous trap card rose in front of Musashi.

"What does that do?" Alastor asked.

"You are just going to have to wait and see." Musashi replied. "Zanji, attack Beiige" The samurai slashed through the spear wielder.

"Now, my Swift Samurai Storm activates. If one of my Six Samurais attacked, my other samurais gain 300 attack points." The Grandmaster gained 300 attack points. (2400/800)

"Grandmaster, attack Glodd!" The old sensei's skills have not dulled. He easily dispatched the wu-lord.

**Musashi Kenshi (5100) – Leon Alastor (4800)**

"My attack may be over but I am not finished yet." Musashi placed a card on his disk. "I summon Six Samurai – Kamon!" A warrior with red armor appeared. He held no weapons in his hands. _(1500/1000)_

"Since I have another Six Samurai on the field, I will use his effect to destroy one face up spell or trap on the field. Your Card of Safe Return is really getting on my nerves." Kamon fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a stick of dynamite. Chucking it at the spell card, it exploded.

_Since he has that Morphing Jar in his hand, I better play this card down… _ "I will set one card facedown."

"Your move, Alastor," Musashi said.

_He's actually getting pretty serious now…guess I better wrap things up. _Alastor thought as he drew. _And I have just the right cards._

"I activate Forces of Darkness!" Alastor announced. "This card allows me to place two Dark World monsters back into my hand." He took two cards from his graveyard.

"Next, I will set one monster facedown." A facedown card appeared.

"Now, I activate Creature Swap!" Alastor said. "Looks like we have to trade monsters." His facedown monster switch over to Musashi's said of the field.

Musashi turned to his samurai. "Kamon, do you mind?" The samurai shook his head and leapt over to Alastor's side of the field.

"Thanks for your Six Samurai, Musashi." Alastor said. "I use him to attack the facedown monster that I gave you." Obeying the command, Kamon threw an explosive at the facedown monster. A cracking jar laughed madly as it burst apart.

"That was my Morphing Jar. I think you know what that does."

Musashi groaned. "We both discard other hands and draw five new cards."

"That's right," Alastor said. "And I suppose you know what happens when that happens." With a crash of lightning, the two fiend lords, Glodd and Sliva stepped onto the field. (2300/2000) x 2

"Darn, he got them back on the field again." Yuna said.

"That isn't all I can do," Alastor said as he drew five new cards. "Since that Morphing Jar was placed under your control, technically I discard my hand due to your monster's effect."

"No…" Eliza gasped. "That means that he gets to activate their effects now."

"That's right," Alastor grinned. "First, Sliva takes two cards from your hand and place them in the bottom of your deck."

The fiend raised his hand. Musashi frowned as he placed two glowing cards on the bottom of his deck.

"A warlord like Sliva knows that hand disruption is a powerful strategy." Alastor said. "However, Glodd prefers a more direct strategy. When he is summoned, I can destroy two cards on the field."

"Oh…no!" Yuna cried.

Twin bolts of lightning crashed down on the Samurai Zanji and the Grandmaster. Kamon couldn't do anything but watch his comrades get shot down.

"When Grandmaster is sent to the graveyard by a card effect, I can return one Six Samurai to my hand." Musashi shouted, determined not to give up. "I return the Grandmaster himself to my hand."

"Fine!" Alastor responded. "But he is not on the field to protect you. Glodd, Sliva! Direct attack!"

The fiends crackled as they advanced upon Musashi. He braced himself as Glodd brought his golden axe down and Sliva slashed with his silver warblade. He couldn't hold in a cry as his life points took a severe drop.

**Musashi Kenshi (500) – Leon Alastor (4800)**

"Musashi!" Eliza shouted.

"Seems like this duel is almost over," Alastor said, smugly. "I place one card facedown."

"Make you move, Kenshi."

"Brother, don't give up!" Yuna cheered.

Musashi took a deep breath and drew a card. _Time to get serious._

"This duel isn't over yet, Alastor." Musashi said. "Your monsters might have taken me for surprise but I am not through."

"I activate Pot of Avarice. This allows me to return five monsters into my deck." He took out five of his Six Samurais and shuffled them back into his deck. "Now I draw twice."

"I activate Six Samurai United!" A spell card featuring all six samurai rose onto the field. "Every time Six Samurai is summoned to the field, I can place one Bushido counter on this card. Then I can send it to the graveyard to draw cards equal to the number of Bushido counters."

I summon Shien's Footsolider." A small monkey solider stepped onto the field. (700/300).

"You like using Creature Swap huh?" Musashi said. "But so do I. I activate Creature Swap!" The Shien's Footsolider stepped forward.

"Hmm…tricky, tricky," Alastor muttered. _If I give him Kamon, he would be able to special summon the Grandmaster. That is probably what he is hoping for. But if I gave him Sliva, he would have a stronger monster._

"I will give Kamon back to you." Alastor announced. The solider and the samurai switched spots.

"Oh, thank you." Musashi commented. "Next I play a card that I having been saving for this moment, Monster Reborn."

Zanji returned to the field in attack mode. (1800/1300) A counter glowed on the Six Samurai United card.

"Darn," Alastor muttered under his breath. "That Monster Reborn was placed facedown from before. He had quickly predicted my strategy."

"I special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai!" The old teacher returned to the field. (2100/800)

"Kamon, attack Shien's Footsolider!" The samurai threw a small bomb at the warrior.

**Musashi Kenshi (500) – Leon Alastor (4000)**

"Since Shien's Footsolider is sent to my graveyard, I can special summon a level three or lower Six Samurai to the field."

"I summon Spirit of the Six Samurai" The floating suit of armor materialized on the field. (500/500)

"Also Kamon's attack triggers the effect of Swift Samurai Storm, granting my other Six Samurais 300 more attack points." Musashi remarked. (2100/1300) (2400/800)

"Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, destroy his Glodd!" The wise samurai rushed forward, sword held high.

"Nice try, Musashi." Alastor grinned. "I activate Bark of the Dark Ruler! All I have to do is give up 600 life points to decrease your Grandmaster's attack by 600!"

**Musashi Kenshi (500) – Leon Alastor (3400)**

A fearsome roar bellowed across the field. However the Grandmaster didn't falter in his attack. (1800/800)

"Musashi can't call off the attack!" Yuna realized. "He's going to lose!"

Before the Grandmaster could bring his sword down on Glodd, he disappeared in a shimmer of gold. Suddenly a swift warrior leapt over the two fiends and struck Alastor directly. Alastor cried out in surprise.

**Musashi Kenshi (500) – Leon Alastor (2100)**

"What…? What did you do?" Alastor gasped, holding his chest. Yuna and Eliza gasped as well.

Musashi held a spell card out. "Cunning of the Six Samurai. A quick play that allows me to send one six samurai to the graveyard and special summon another samurai to the field."

"By sending my Grandmaster to the graveyard, I was able to cancel his attack. And then I special summon Yariza in order to attack you directly." The blue lance wielding samurai stood next to Kamon. (1000/500) – (1300/500)

"Umm…Nice save…" Alastor murmured.

"He must have known Alastor had a trap set for him," Yuna said. "He just attacked to lure it out before beginning his real assault!"

"Zanji! Attack his Glodd!"

"But Glodd still has more attack!" Eliza cried.

The brave samurai charged forward. The wu lord slammed his battle ax down at the samurai, who blocked it with his naginata. The fiend pushed forward, overwhelming Zanji in a display of strength. Quickly Yariza leaped forward and knocked the axe away, allowing Zanji to follow through with a mortal blow. As the fiend collapsed for the blow, Yariza kneeled and disappeared as well.

**Musashi Kenshi (300) – Leon Alastor (2100)**

"What happen?" Eliza asked. "Shouldn't Zanji be the one that was destroyed?"

"No." Yuna answered. "Musashi used both unique effects of the Six Samurais. When there is another Six Samurai on the field, Zanji can destroy the monster that it battles with at the end of the damage step. However normally this would mean that Zanji will have to die but Musashi used his other effect to protect him by sacrificing Yariza instead."

"Those samurais…" Alastor murmured. "They make a good team."

_And that is all I can do... _"I go to Main Phase 2 and use the effect of my Six Samurai United to draw two cards." The spell card shattered and Musashi made two draws.

"Next, I equip Kamon with Spirit of the Six Samurai." The union flew into Kamon, blessing him with a blue aura. (2000/1500)

"I place one card facedown and end my turn," Musashi said. A card appeared in front of his feet.

"That was a nice comeback from Musashi," Eliza said. "But it doesn't change anything. His monsters are still weaker than Alastor's. Using Zanji's effect again would be risking it too much."

"I know," Yuna frowned. "This might look bad but Alastor wouldn't attack. Shien's Castle of Mist makes his monster too weak to battle."

Alastor drew a card. _Even though I was trying to go easy on him…Seems like this is the end. _

"I activate Heavy Storm!" Whipping winds stormed across the field. Alastor shouted over the roar of the winds. "It's over. This card will destroy all spell and traps on the field."

Shien's Castle was beginning to break apart due to the roaring winds. "Oh, no. Without the castle, Musashi's samurais are just sitting ducks!" Eliza realized.

Musashi braced himself and activated his facedown card. "Dammit, I was hoping I didn't have to do this. I chain, Emergency Provisions!"

"I will destroy all of my spells and traps myself to gain 1000 life points for each of them." The field disappeared in a sparkle of golden dust. Musashi's Swift Samurai Storm and Spirit of the Six Samurai disappeared as well.

**Musashi Kenshi (3300) – Leon Alastor (2100)**

"Yes!" Yuna cheered. "Musashi can still survive this mess."

Alastor frowned at first but then chuckled. "I should have known. Musashi Kenshi, no wonder they talk so much about you, always able to predict two moves ahead and take advantage of every situation."

"However you still lost that field card of yours." Alastor smiled. "Time to summon the king of the Dark World, Brron, Mad King of the Dark World!"

A crackling laugh echoed the field. Shaking, Eliza nervously grabbed hold of Yuna. "What?? What was that?"

A laugh came from a crazed fiend on Alastor's side of the field. Sliva the warlord dwarfed it in size but what really scared Musashi was the expression that it had on its face. It was pure madness, a beast the gain joy in insanity. (1800/400)

"Prepare yourself Kenshi!" Alastor yelled. "Sliva, attack Zanji!" Zanji's gleaming naginata was no match for the warlord's crushing blade.

**Musashi Kenshi (2800) – Leon Alastor (2100)**

"Brron, finish off his Kamon," The king crackled as it shout a blast of dark energy at the bomb expert.

**Musashi Kenshi (2500) – Leon Alastor (2100)**

"When, Brron the Mad King inflicts battle damage to my opponent, I must discard one card from my hand." Alastor smiled. "Might seem like a bad thing…but not when the card that I discard is this."

A second Glodd, Wu Lord of the Dark World came into view. (2300/2000)

"Seems like your field is empty," Alastor said. "Glodd, attack him directly!"

The warlord slammed his axe down on Musashi, draining his life points with a single blow. Musashi groaned and kneeled on the ground, panting.

**Musashi Kenshi (200) – Leon Alastor (2100)**

"Musashi!" Yuna cried.

"You can't keep this up, can you Kenshi?" Alastor muttered. "I end my turn."

Musashi frowned. _Something is definitely going on here. That attack seemed to be a bit more heavy than usual. It actually hurt… What the hell is going on?_

"I don't know what is up with you, Alastor!" Musashi said. "But I wouldn't lose to you."

"Draw!"

"I will play Six Samurai United once more!" A second continuous spell appeared in front of Musashi

"I normal summon Six Samurai Irou." The blindfolded samurai returned to the field. (1700/1200)

Alastor smirked. "Your lone samurai is not going to be able to do anything to me."

"He is not alone." Musashi replied. "I active Warrior Returning Alive. With this spell card, I will return one warrior into my hand." He took a card from his graveyard.

"Now I will special summon him to the field. Come, Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." The old master of the Six Samurai appeared on the field. (2100/800)

"Since I have summoned two Six Samurais, I will use the effect of Six Samurai United once more to draw two cards." Musashi quickly made two draws.

"So how is this sorry band of warriors supposed to beat my mighty fiends?" Alastor smirked.

"By working together," Musashi answered. "I play the spell card, A. Forces!" The two warriors glowed with energy. They shifted into offensive battle formation. (2500/1200) (2100/1500)

"Oh, right!" Yuna cheered. "Allied Forces gives his samurai 200 more attack points for every warrior and spellcasters on his side of the field. This way, his warriors are stronger than Musashi's fiends.

"I will equip my Irou with Legendary Ebony Steed." Irou quickly mounted a large black house. "His steed gives him 200 more attack and defense points. (2300/1700)

"Grandmaster, attack Glodd!" The old teacher easily slays the golden armored fiend.

**Musashi Kenshi (200) – Leon Alastor (1900)**

"Irou, take care of that lunatic!" The terrible laugh of the mad king ended as the blind samurai stabbed his blade through the fiend.

**Musashi Kenshi (200) – Leon Alastor (1400)**

"Alright, big brother!" Yuna yelled.

"He just turned the tables around," Eliza said.

Musashi smiled. "I end my turn."

Alastor frowned. "Draw!"

_No good…I might actually lose this one. I have to be careful._

"I place one monster facedown. " A facedown card appeared.

"And I switch my Sliva into defense mode."

And that is all I can do."

"Draw!" Musashi announced. _Come on…All I need is one more monster…_

However it wasn't a monster card. Shrug off his disappointment, he directed his next move. "Irou, attack his facedown monster!"

"Great!" Yuna shouted. "Irou can destroy any facedown monster regardless of its effect and defense points." The dark samurai sliced the card in half. It disappeared without revealing what it was.

"Grandmaster! Finish his Sliva!" Musashi ordered. Sliva was slashed down by the powerful swordsman.

Musashi looked over his card again. "I end my turn."_ With all the drawing and searching that we have done, this duel should be reaching its end point._

"You can feel it can't you?" Alastor asked. "This duel is just about over. Just a few more turns…"

Alastor looked over his hand. _Things actually don't look that great. I was lucky to survive last turn. Perhaps I might have underestimated the strength of Musashi Kenshi. Still if he acts like the brilliant mastermind he is…things should just be fine._

"I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Two cards materialized in front of Alastor.

_Come on… play the card…the one card I need_

"Draw…" Musashi said. _He doesn't have much life points left. All he has is those cards facedown… All that stands between me and victory…_

"Alright, Musashi can win this." Eliza grinned.

"Maybe…" Yuna muttered. "But that facedown card,"

Musashi debated over his next move. _I can't be making reckless moves now that I am so close to the win. That facedown card could be a Mirror Force, which means I have to get rid of it right away. It could be a bluff…or each worse it could be something that he wants me to get rid of… What, what was that card? Some kind of Dark World card?_

_No choose. I must eliminate the possibility. _"I activate the spell card, Heavy Storm!" Musashi shouted, placing the card on the field.

"Yes!" Yuna cheered. "He is going in for the win."

"No matter what facedown card Alastor has it is going to be useless." Eliza said.

Despite the furious winds that battered the field, Alastor couldn't help but grinned. He chuckled. "The problem with you geniuses, is that you over think things."

"I activate the trap card, Dark Deal!"

_Shit!_ Musashi wanted to slap himself for his stupid move. _I fell right into his trap!_

"Dark Deal can only be activated when my opponent plays a normal spell card. By paying one thousand life points, I can change the effect of your spell card."

Musashi noticed that the words on his Heavy Storm began to change. "Discard one random card from your opponent's hand."

"That's right, but since I have only one card in my hand…"

The gusting winds changed direction and pulled Alastor's only card out of his hand.

"Now that wasn't such a bad deal was it?" Alastor asked, smirking.

**Musashi Kenshi (200) – Leon Alastor (400)**

"Huh what was the point of that card?" Eliza asked, puzzled. "He paid 1000 life points to discard the only card he had left."

"Remember Alastor uses Dark World monsters." Yuna said. "He wants to discard them."

Alastor laughed. "You're right, girls. It is time to reveal, the mightiest fiend of them all, Reign-Beaux, Overlord of the Dark World!"

Faintly but surely, a tremor spread through the ground. A sense of dread saturated the air. Musashi fingered his last card carefully as an ominous giant came into view. The creature that appeared was huge. It was ten feet tall, with huge wings on it back. Bright flicking gems were embedded in its chest. It had a skull-like face and curved horns. Clutching a two-pronged golden-bladed sasumata in its claw, it roared into the open night sky. (2500/1800)

"That is the…Overlord." Musashi gasped.

"Yes, the true ruler of the Dark World," Alastor said. "Rarely does he come out from the shadows, but when he does, you are sure to find destruction in his wake."

"Because my Overlord has a powerful effect. It could only be activated if my opponents make me discard him. I will use it to destroy all the monsters that you control!"

"What!" Eliza cried. "But without his monsters, Musashi would be wide open!"

"Reign-Beaux! Darkest Rainbow!" The fiend waved his sasumata through the air. A wave of darkness sweep across the field, covering Musashi and his warriors.

"Musashi!" Yuna shouted.

Musashi gasped for breath as the flood of shadows passed over him. The attack left him with a rather unpleasant feeling. It felt for a moment that he was going to pass out. Shaking the nauseous feeling from his head, he stared determinedly at Alastor. _I don't know what kind of trick you tried to pull just now, but I am not going to lose this duel._

Alastor was a bit puzzled. "Why…why is Irou still on the field? You can't use the Grandmaster to protect you other samurais."

The girls noticed it too. Through battered and horseless, Irou was still standing tall. (1900/1400)

"The one that protect Irou was the Legendary Ebony Steed." Musashi explained. "It can protect its master from being destroyed by destroying itself."

"And that is not all! Since my Grandmaster was destroy by the effect of your Reign-Beaux, I will use his effect to add one Six Samurai into my hand."

"So you are going to rescue your Grandmaster again?"

"Not quite. I am going to win." Musashi pulled a card from his graveyard.

"I summon Six Samurai Yariza!" The blue spear wielding samurai leapt onto the field. (1000/500) – (1400/900)

"Oh I see now." Yuna said. "Yariza can attack directly if there is another Six Samurai on the field. So Musashi could go for Alastor's lifepoints!"

"Yariza! Direct Attack! Soaring Heavens!" Musashi commanded. The samurai dashed across the field and with a huge leap, jumped over Reign-Beaux. He aimed his spear directly at Alastor.

"You're going to finish me off that easily!" Alastor cried. "I activate the trap card, Dimensional Prison!"

The spear was just about to touch Alastor when a portal suddenly opened in front of him. Unable to stop, Yariza fell straight into it. The portal close up and the warrior vanished from the field.

"Dimensional Prison seals your monster forever, removing it from the game." Alastor said. Musashi frowned as he placed his monster into his pocket. "Also since it doesn't destroy your samurai, you can't protect it with another one."

"Darn," Eliza muttered. "Musashi's attack didn't go through."

_Nothing I can do now, but wait. _"I switch Irou into defense mode and activate Swords of Revealing Light!" A rain of swords fell down encircling Alastor.

"Stopping my attack for three turns, huh?" Alastor drew. "Is that all you can do?"

He smiled when he saw the card that he drew. _Alright, with this card I can get rid of my pesky swords and take down his Irou._

_**Don't.**_

_Master?  
_

_**Don't play that card…**_

_But Master, I could definitely win with this._

_**The time is not right. It is still too early. We don't want to cause any unnecessary trouble…**_

_**Don't worry even now, my powers are affecting the game… **_

…_I understand…_

_**Patient, Alastor…Musashi is just stalling…This duel is yours…**_

…_Fine, Master. I will finish this alone…_

"I end my turn, Kenshi," said Alastor. "That means two more turns for your swords."

"Come on… a good draw." Musashi muttered. His eyes lit up when he saw that card that he drew. "I activate the spell card, Reasoning!"

"I know what that card does." Alastor said. "I have to pick one level and you are going to pick cards off your deck until you reach a monster. If I am wrong, you can summon it. But if I am right, you are force to discard it."

He smirked. "I chose level seven."

"Level seven?" Yuna gasped. "I get it. The only one that can pose a threat to Alastor now is Musashi's Great Shogun. If Musashi does get his Shogun, it would just get discarded."

Musashi frowned as he drew the top card of his deck. It was a monster alright…He flipped the card over so that everyone could see.

Alastor broke into laughter. "Seems like that card is not going to help you now!"

"No good," Eliza shook her head. "That was Great Shogun Shien. And like Alastor predicted, it is level seven."

Musashi placed the card in his graveyard and ended his turn silently.

"Is that all you can do?" Alastor chuckled. "I place one card facedown. Only one turn left for your swords."

"Come on…" Musashi drew. "Tch…I will have to place this card facedown." _With the way things are going, it doesn't seem good. All I can do is wait…_

"When I end my turn, these swords will be gone…" Alastor said. "I place one card facedown. Now it is your turn." The glowing swords disappeared. "Your swords won't keep me from attacking anymore."

"Musashi!" Eliza cried. "Don't give up!"

"Keep drawing!" Yuna shouted. "Like Dad always says, hope lies within the cards!"

"You just got to keep drawing."

Musashi smiled. "That's right. Never look back. Just keep drawing!" Determined, he drew, holding the card in front of him.

"First I will use my trap card, Return of the Six Samurai!" Once again, Yariza returned to the field. His armor was still shining blue. (1000/500) – (1400/900)

"Trying to bring back Yariza for another attack?" Alastor said. "Too bad for you but I am fully prepared." He looked over his two facedown cards. _Widespread Ruin and Sakurestsu Armor… These two cards are enough to protect him from his samurai._

"I play a spell card, Warrior Returning Alive!" Musashi declared. "Do you remember this card? I get to place one warrior into my hand!"

"What warrior is he planning to get?" Eliza wondered.

"There is only one," Yuna said. "One warrior that is strong enough to help him now."

"As long as I have two samurais on the field, I can summon this warrior," Musashi said. "Enter the battlefield! Great Shogun Shien!"

The samurais kneeled as the great war general walked on the field. The air hummed as the shogun drew out his large katana. (2500/2400) – (3100/3000)

"Great Shogun Shien…" Alastor said. "You got your ace after all."

"When you and your deck are one," Musashi said. "No matter how hard your opponent tries to break your design, it would find a way."

Yuna smiled. "That was what Dad always used to say."

"Perhaps, but can you defend him against this?" Alastor pushed a button on his duel disk. "I activate Raigek Break! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one card on the field." A bolt of lightning speared down towards the shogun.

"Yariza! Defend!" Musashi shouted. Always loyal, the samurai jump forward blocking the bolt of lighting. Yariza was destroyed instead. "My samurais are loyal to their shogun until death. They would protect him with their own lives."

_Ahh, perhaps but that is just one of my traps…_"Well then," Alastor said. "Let's have our aces clash!"

"With pleasure," Musashi shouted. "Great Shogun Shien! Attack!"

"With Yariza gone, Shien's attack points dropped to 2900," Yuna commented. "However with Alastor's life points so now, this attack will win Musashi the game." The shogun move swiftly, through he was clad in bold red armor. He was quickly closing in ground between him and the Overlord.

"Too bad, Kenshi," Alastor said. "I still have one more trap to play." He pushed another button on his duel disk. To his surprise nothing happened. No card was raised. Just to make sure, he pressed it again. Still there was no response.

"You got to be kidding me," He groaned. "A malfunction?"

"Not quite," Musashi replied. His shogun held out hand, his armor became eerie red. Alastor couldn't see the shogun's face but he could make out two angry glowing eyes.

"My shogun's very presence limits the amount of spell and traps you can play this turn," Musashi explained. "Thanks to him, you can only activate one spell or trap per turn."

Alastor frowned. "My trap wouldn't work because I already used Raigek Break before."

"Exactly," Musashi said. "Let's finish this. Great Shogun Shien! Great Genji Gale!"

With a fearsome battle cry, the shogun slammed his war blade on the Overlord. The large fiend raised his weapon to block the shogun's katana but it cut into pieces. Holding his shattered sasumata in his hands, the Overload was shattered by Shien's mighty blow.

Alastor groaned as life points dropped to zero, signifying the end of the duel.

**Musashi Kenshi (200) – Leon Alastor (0)**

"Yes!" Yuna cheered. "Another win for my big brother."

"That was a tough one," Eliza remarked. "Your brother is a good duelist."

A frown crept onto Alastor's face but he quickly covered it up with a smile. Straightening his hat, he extended a hand towards Musashi.

"A fine duel, Musashi Kenshi," Alastor said. "It seems like I have to start from three stars again."

Musashi looked at the hand warily for a moment but accept it, reluctantly. _Might to a bit suspicious but at least he had manners._

Alastor smiled and then lowered his voice so that only Musashi could hear him. "You have talent, boy…great talent. And talent should not be put to waste."

Musashi could see a sort of twinkle in his eyes. Alastor continued. "Something is going to happen soon…You might want to find yourselves on the side that would benefit you the most."

Curious, Musashi asked. "What is going to happen?"

Alastor's grin grew even wider. "A revelation…"

Seeing that Yuna and Eliza were coming closer, he backed away and tipped his hat in salute. "Think about it, Musashi."

Musashi watched as Alastor walked away, slowing merging into the night. His words troubled him. He couldn't shake the feeling that there were more things hidden into the shadows. Something that was perhaps... dangerous

"Nice job, Musashi." Eliza said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Ah, thanks," replied Musashi.

"What did that guy say?" Yuna asked.

"Nothing of any importance," Musashi said, hastily. _Better not get the girls worried. Perhaps it is just my nerves…_

"Anyway, we wasted too much time on the duel. It's even later that usual. We should get Eliza home quickly." Musashi said and began walking down the street.

Yuna stared at her brother for a moment. Something had to going on.

"Come on. Afterwards, we have to get home too. You don't Mom to say anything do you?"

Not wanting to be on the receiving end of one of her mom's lecture, Yuna hurried along and pushed the thoughts out of her mind. _If was important, Musashi would have told me._

_Right?_

_

* * *

  
_

Shuffling his deck, Leon Alastor pulled out a certain card.

_**Still mad you lost? I didn't think you would have gotten so worked up over one star. You could easily win it back later.**_

_That's not the problem. I am just wondering why didn't you let me win?  
_

_**I merely wanted to test out the powers of the young samurai master…Without pushing him too hard. **_

_**Also it is not yet safe for me to show my face.**_

_Do we actually need to recruit him? We have all the Envoys._

_**True, but it would be nice to have a few more able bodied duelists around. Talent like his could help us...  
**_

_Or hinder us... This far into the game…it may be safer if we stick with our band of allies…_

_With everything finally in place, we don't want any new complications._

_**That's a good point…Perhaps you are right. **_

_**We shall stick to the plan, mustn't overextend ourselves.**_

_Quite excited aren't you?_

_**If only you feel a fraction of the nerves that I am feeling now…I can almost taste the fresh air…**_

_Soon…We are almost there. With the Envoys all together, we can start the gathering…_

_**Yes…And then the Gate would be complete…**_

_**And the World will have to face…**_

_**A Revelation…**_

_**

* * *

**_

I hope that was intense enough for everyone to enjoy. Now the reasons why this chapter is late:

1. It is a big chapter, the biggest so far.

2. Writer's block. It is hard to keep duels interesting and make the duelists seem smart. At the same time, making it seem more exciting than just a regular real life game.

3. School!!!!! My main excuse. Damn, high schools keeps me busy as hell. A shit load of work and everyday I have track practice. I find myself with so little time on my hand. And the time I do have, i just don't feel like using it to write.

I decide that I will try to more focus on this fanfic. I realize that writing a fanfic is alot of work and needs alot of dedication. I really want this to succeed and grow because I already had an idea for my second fanfic. But no point starting that one when I need to finish this.

The next chapter will be up very soon. Before winter vacation ends thats for sure.

Happy Holidays!


	9. Chapter 9 Family Feud

**Chapter 10 – Family Feud**

_A young chick poked its head over the edge of its nest, its safe haven. Darting its eyes about, it could see the high rooftops of many trees and still there were other trees that seem to reach the heavens themselves. It fluttered it wings. If only it could fly, then maybe it could touch the sky and play with the clouds. It poked its head out further._

_Suddenly, it fell over the lip of the nest, with a little screech. Its mother, who was watching protectively at all times, glided down the nest gracefully. But there was no need. The little chick flapped its wings hard but it was flying. The mother dove under its child, giving it a little draft. It was time for it to leave its nest._

Kai and Lance sat on stools next to Kai's kitchen counter. Between spoonfuls of cereal they discussed the uses of cards and laughed over old jokes.

However, someone interrupted their conversation.

"Mom…" Kai asked, his spoon hovering between the bowl of cereal and his mouth. "Why are you in your old dueling suit?"

Angela Asuka had just walked downstairs, dressed in her old dueling dress. It was like a black army uniform with red outlines. It had a long red jacket with jagged tails at the end and a high pointed collar.

"Oh…this old thing." Angela said. "Well, I was invited for the Neo Battle City tournament too."

"I thought you retired, Ms. Asuka." Lance said.

"Well, I could have one final duel with my son, right?"

Kai's face suddenly turned red.

At first, Lance thought his friend was blushing. But then after closer observation, he realized that he was chocking. Quickly he pound on his friend's back. Kai coughed and found his breath again.

"Are…you kidding me?" Kai managed to say.

"Why would I be? I believe I am still entitled to teach my son a lesson."

Kai was still in disbelief. "You got to be kidding me."

"Get your duel disk," Angela ordered. "I am not playing games."

Kai grabbed his duel disk off the counter and followed his mom into the living room. They stood on opposite sides of the room.

Lance leaped onto the couch, forgetting about his cereal. He didn't want to miss any of this duel. It was going to be epic.

Kai shuffled his duel, nervously. He never thought he would be dueling his own mom in the tournament. As her own son, he knew very well how strong she was. While he had never dueled her real deck before, he watched all her past duels. The Red Eyes Maiden was not a duelist to mess around with. His moves are certain numbered

"Oh, there is something that I should tell you," Angela said, softly.

"If I win, you will drop out of this tournament. You are not ready to face the real world."

"What?!" Kai responded. "You can't do that!"

"I am your mother!" Angela replied, sternly. "Do not tell me what I can't do."

Kai didn't respond to that. His mother was so seriously today. She wasn't playing games anymore. _Damn it. What should I do? Why is she like this? I can't take this duel lightly._

"You can't make any progress if fear keeps you from acting…" Angela said.

_I got to win…I can't keep backing down. Sooner or later, I will be dueling people just as good as she is…_Kai thought.

_And I will have to win!_

"Duel!"

**Kai Asuka (8000) – Angela Asuka (8000)**

"Well, I suppose I taught you to let ladies go first, Kai." Angela said, as she looked over her hand. "I set one monster and place these two cards facedown," The backs of three cards appeared on her field.

"Your move," she said, seriously.

Kai clenched his hand nervously. _She has two cards facedown, most likely traps and a monster, most likely Masked Dragon._ He knew his mom's deck pretty well by watching the videos, but she could have made some last minute changes.

"Please, Kai. Before your mother gets any older," Angela said. This snapped Kai's attention back to the field.

Shaking away his worries, he made a move. "I summon Lancer Dragonite!" A green winged dragon with a lance flew onto the field. (1500/1800)

"Attack her facedown card!" The armed dragon speared through the facedown card, revealing a smaller green dragon in armor.

**Kai Asuka (8000) – Angela Asuka (7300)**

"Your monster's 800 defense points was not enough to block the piercing effect of my Lancer Dragonite." Kai said.

"Did you not see the monster I play? It was my Troop Dragon." Angela replied, not worried about the life points she just lost. "I wanted you to destroy it, so I can activate this trap card, Soul Rope!" A purple card rose on Angela's side of the field. "When one of my monsters was destroyed in battle, I can pay 1000 lifepoints to special summon a level four monster from my deck."

**Kai Asuka (8000) – Angela Asuka (6300)**

Angela skimmed through her deck and quickly found the card she wanted. "Come forth, Rare Metal Dragon!" A heavy plated dragon materialized in front of her. (2400/1200)

"No way. How can a level four monster has 2400 attack?" Lance asked.

"The only drawback for Rare Metal Dragon is that can't be normal summoned." Kai explained. He has seen this combo many times on tape, but still he fell right into it.

"Let's not forget about the first Troop Dragon shall we? When it is destroyed, I can summon another Troop Dragon to the field in defense mode." A small green dragon crouched down on the field. (700/800)

Kai placed a card in his disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn." Already he had lost the fight for field control.

"Are you still hoping that I would go easy on you because you are my son?" Angela asked, as she drew a card. "Sorry but this is a real duel. You can't hold back."

"I summon Infernal Dragon!" A dark menacing dragon lumbered onto the field. (2000/0)

"Another powerful dragon!" Lance exclaimed.

"Now, l move my Troop Dragon to attack mode." The winged dragon got up with his sword drawn.

"Rare Metal Dragon, crush his Lancer Dragonite." The dark dragon charged towards the lance wielding dragon.

"I activate a trap, Sakuretsu Armor." Kai called, as a purple card rose from the ground.

"Too predictable," Angela shook her head in dismay. "Go, Trap Jammer!" With a buzz, the Sakuretsu Armor shattered into pieces. Next, Kai's Lancer Dragonite met its doom as well.

**Kai Asuka (7100) – Angela Asuka (6300)**

"Troop Dragon and Infernal Dragon direct attack!" The smaller dragon slashed at Kai's leg as the black dragon knocked him down with a breath of hell flames.

**Kai Asuka (4400) – Angela Asuka (6300)**

"I'm finished with my turn," Angela announced. "Which means right now, my Infernal Dragon falls to his grave." The dark dragon disappeared into ashes. "But by tributing one monster, I could bring him right back." Her Troop Dragon was covered with black flames as a claw pulled it down through the ground. With a roar, the Infernal Dragon returned to the field.

"It's your turn," she said, a bit bored.

Kai groaned and shakily got back to his feet. His head was slightly ringing. How did he expect to beat his own mom, the one that taught him everything about dueling?

"Kai!" Lance shouted. "Don't give up!"

_She is strong. Just a few turns and already Kai is down to almost half his life points._

"I expect more of a fight from you." Angela muttered. "How do you expect to live up to our legacy?"

Kai jolted awake with those words. "This … is just a test. You just want to see how much I better I have gotten, if I am ready to make a name for myself."

Angela responded stoically. "Are you?"

"I don't know," Kai admitted. "But I promise. By the end of the duel, I would know."

"Draw!" he shouted. Looking over his hand, he picked out a spell card to play. "I activate Hand Destruction. Both of use must discard two cards and draw two new ones." Picking out two monsters, he placed them in the graveyard. Angela briefly looked through her hand and discarded two cards. Afterward, both players made two draws.

"Next, let's take this duel to a grander place. I play Mausoleum of the Emperor." With a rumble, the walls of the living rooms were replaced with brown stone walls. Lines of clay statues surround the two duelists.

"Woah..." Lance gasped.

Angela looked over the arena. "Hmm… I did think that the living room needed a paint job."

"Here on this field, we can pay our life points as tributes instead of monsters," explained Kai. "So I pay 1000 life points to summon Kaiser Glider!"

**Kai Asuka (3400) – Angela Asuka (6300)**

One of the clay statues move forward and burst into shards as a golden dragon erupted outwards from it. (2400/2200)

"A light dragon…" Angela noticed. "I suppose you got that one from your father."

"Yeah," Kai said. "My deck of light and darkness…I got the idea from you guys."

"Is that all you can do?" Angela asked, scornfully. "Copy the work of other duelists?"

Kai grit his teeth when he heard her tone. He responded angrily. "I am not done yet! I activate Monster Reborn!"

The holy ankh floated above the field. "Watch me summon a monster of my own strength! Appear, Darkblaze Dragon!"

Black flames erupted from the ground as the slender four winged dragon burst out of the ground. (2400/2000)

"I discard Darkblaze earlier with Hand Destruction's effect." Kai said. "This is one dragon that I didn't take for you…"

Lance smiled, nostalgically. He remembered the day that Kai got it. It was at a tournament held at the Duel Academy, held to introduce the freshman class to the school. It was also the first day that Kai met Drake Lewis, the day that the two became eternal rival. At that tournament, Kai and Drake were the final two duelists. It was a clash of two dragon duelists. Kai was close to winning but Drake defeated him, claiming the first prize, Tyrant Dragon. Kai on the other hand, got the second prize, Darkblaze Dragon. That card meant a lot to Kai.

Kai stared at Darkblaze Dragon for a moment. He remembered that day too. Victory was so close. He had Drake hanging by a just few points. But Drake was so calm and collective. His next draw completely turned the tables around.

Since Darkblaze Dragon was a fire type, it clashed with his light and dark theme. However he kept it in his deck to remind himself of the lesson that he learned that day. Nothing is determined until the last card is played.

"Darkblaze Dragon, attack Infernal Dragon!" Kai commanded. "Scorching Black Blaze!" The fiery dragon incinerated the dark dragon into ashes.

**Kai Asuka (3400) – Angela Asuka (5900)**

"And that is not all." Kai continued. "When Darkblaze Dragon destroys a monster in battle, you lose life points equal to its attack points." Angela braced herself as the flaming fireball barreled over her.

**Kai Asuka (3400) – Angela Asuka (3900)**

"Now, Kaiser Glider, battle with her Rare Metal Dragon." The golden dragon had no trouble rammed though the armored dragon. It emerged from the battle unharmed.

"Smart move," Angela commented. "Kaiser Glider couldn't be destroy in battle with a monster that has equal attack points."

"Nice comeback, Kai!" Lance cheered. _With a duel against his mom, a former Pro League duelist, he is able to hold his own._

"Your move, mom." Kai said.

"Don't get cocky just because you managed to get a few blows in," Angela warned as she drew, "When you are too over confident, you tend to make mistakes."

She gazed over her hand. "Your mistake is that… I could use your field card. I pay 2000 life points to summon Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Two clay statues exploded as a large black dragon descend in front of Angela. (2400/2000)

**Kai Asuka (3400) – Angela Asuka (1900)**

"Damn…" Kai muttered. "She used my own card against me."

"Now, time for you to experience the power of my dragon." Angela placed a card in her disk. "I play the spell card, Inferno Fire Blast!"

The black dragon reared back its head and let loose a massive fireball. It rocketed past Kai's monster and hit him full on. He screamed. _This hurt a lot more than it does on film. _

**Kai Asuka (1000) – Angela Asuka (1900)**

"Toughen up," Angela said. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Get a grip, Kai." Lance yelled. "You are still in control here."

Kai nodded as he drew his next card. _With my life points so low, I can't use the Mausoleum's effect. That facedown card must be a trap…Why else would she play Red Eyes when she knows that my Kaiser Glider can finish it off? Should I attack?_

Kai hardened his resolve. "Kaiser Glider, attack!" The golden dragon rush forward, fearlessly aiming at the Red Eyes Black Dragon.

"It was a trap, Kai." Angela said. "But it wouldn't have matter if you attack or didn't. Go, Burst Breath."

"You must be familiar with what this card does," Angela said. "By tributing one dragon, I can destroy all monsters with defense that is less than my dragon's attack."

The dark dragon wiped out Kaiser Glider and Darkblaze Dragon with a torrent of black flames. The fiery conflagration turned it into ashes as well.

Kai groaned as he looked over his hand. _No monsters…but it is a good thing I have this._

"I will place one card facedown and end my turn." A card appeared in front of Kai. _I can't lose. Not yet!_

"Hang in there Kai." Lance said, encouragingly.

"Draw!" Angela shouted.

"This will be the card that will end this duel," she announced. "I activate Swing of Memories!"

Kai stepped back surprisingly. His mom's most treasured card…

A warm breeze enveloped the room as the Red Eyes Black Dragon returned to the field. (2400/2000) It roared magnificently, knowing that this could be the final blow.

"You dueled well, Kai." Angela said, softly. "But I guess you just aren't ready."

"Red Eyes Black Dragon, Inferno Fire Blast!" Kai stared into the deep maw of the fearsome dragon as it opened its gaping mouth. A blazing fireball shot out like a cannonball right at him. The fireball collided with loud bang, kicking dust and smoke into the air.

"So close…" Lance remarked. "Even through she retired, she is still too good. Did Kai really have any chance?"

Angela looked at the other card in her hand, Red Eyes Darkness Dragon. _I guess he isn't ready to face him yet. Too bad…I had high hopes for him but I suppose it ends now._

"Mom, do you know what the most important lesson was that I learned from you?" Kai asked; his field still covered in smoke. "It is to never give up! And I don't plan to any time soon!"

**Kai Asuka (1000) – Angela Asuka (1900)**

Angela was surprised. _He…took no damage…_

"When the attack hit, I activate a trap card," Kai explained. "Defense Draw. This card allowed me to make the damage zero and then draw one card." He drew a card from his deck.

Angela gasped. "That… was the card he gave you, right?"

Kai answered softly. "Yes…this was one of the last cards that Dad gave me…"

"Isn't it ironic?" She muttered. "That his card would be the one that stop mine…"

"Kai…" she added, gently. "You know…he is not going to come back."

"I know," Kai replied, stoically. "That is why I am going to find him."

"How?" Angela asked. "I have tried many times but it was useless. No matter who I ask and how much time I spent I could never fine a trace of where he was. Your father seemed to have disappeared with the world completely."

"Sometimes, it is best to just move on…" she said, softly.

"No!" Kai shouted back. "I will not give up. I will never give up. I will show him how much I have accomplished and I will make him come back to us!"

Angela listened to him, a bit shocked.

"Please," he pleaded. "Will you asked one more person and spend one more day looking for him?"

Lance watched the exchange quietly. The day that Kai's father left changed him. He remembered the old Kai. The happy going, goofy kid that never had a problem in the world, that never cared about winning or losing. He dueled for the joy of dueling. But after that day, Kai changed. It wasn't very noticeable but Lance saw it. Kai wanted to win. He wanted to succeed, to be number one. Some people would say that was just the normal desire to win but Lance knew it was more. Kai wanted to win because he wanted to make his father recognize him and to come back when he saw what a great son he had. Perhaps Kai thought his own incompetence was what made his dad go away in the first place.

Angela was silent for a while. With a shake of her head, she said, "Some things are impossible…such as beating me in this duel. Show me that you can surpass the impossible and I will let you in on what I know about your father…"

Kai was clearly stunned. There was some secret that was kept hidden from him…and it was about his father...

"Now, I will not hold back any more, Kai." Angela continued. "Witness the monster that gave me my title. Show yourself, Red Eyes Darkness Dragon!" The room dimmed as a reverberating roar echoed through the chamber. The outer hide of the Red Eyes Black Dragon began to shed, revealing sleek metallic skin and red rivulets. (2400/2000)

"Be glad that I already attacked," Angela said. "Because my Red Eyes Darkness Dragon gains 300 attack for every dragon in my graveyard," An aura of darkness covered the red eyed dragon. (3900/2000)

"Make your move, Kai…" said Angela.

Kai grinned. This was the duel he always wanted; to prove his worth against one of the best duelists he known and to find out more about his father. _I must win!_

"Draw!" Kai gazed at the card he drew for a while_. I can't use this just yet…the cost would be too high…But I can feel that this card will be the one to save me…_

"I place one monster in defense and one card facedown," Kai said. "All that's all I can do." Two cards, one vertical and one horizontal, appeared in front of him.

"That was not quite the comeback I was hoping for," Angela remarked. "Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, crush his monster." The dark dragon blew Kai's facedown monster in the pixels.

"That was my Masked Dragon," said Kai. "I will use its effect to bring out Divine Dragon Excelion." The divine sliver dragon appeared on the field. (1500/800)

"Ah…I remember that card," Angela said. "You should have seen your face when we gave you that card. You smiled so much I thought your face would stay that way."

"Yea, I remembered." Kai smiled. "It was the first dragon I got and it stayed with me every since."

"I am proud that you have turned into a duelist that played with his heart other than his head." Angela chuckled. "I place one card facedown. End turn."

"Come on…Kai. You can do this!" urged Lance.

Kai looked over his shoulder and gave him a thumb up. _I am not giving up.  
_

_Come on… My dragons…take flight…_

"Draw!"

_Looks like you're sticking with me till the end._

"I tribute my Divine Dragon Excelion," said Kai. "to summon my second Divine Dragon Excelion. Take flight!" A second sliver dragon replaced the first. Its azure aura blazed more brightly. (2500/800)

"As you can see, since I had one Divine Dragon in my graveyard, it gains 1000 attack points." Kai explained. "Also, the other card that I discard with Hand Destruction was another Divine Dragon Excelion, giving the one that I have on the field a special effect."

"That doesn't matter, Kai." Angela said. "You can't stack the effects of Divine Dragon Excelion."

"I am well aware of that, but I can do this." Kai played a card on his disk. "I equip my Divine Dragon with Megamorph in order to double his original attack points." The flaming blue aura of the divine dragon grew into a huge bonfire. (4000/800)

"To win, you must believe. You taught me that." Kai yelled. "Divine Dragon Excelion, attack!" The blazing sliver dragon fired a geyser of ivory flames at the darkness dragon.

Angela smiled. "Nice resolve," she commented. "But some things are not meant to happen. Go… Rush Recklessly!" A green card with a raging boar materialized on her field.

"This spell card will give my Red Eyes 700 more attack points. Darkness Giga Flare!" (4600/2000) Red Eyes reared back and countered with a blast of black flames. The two infernos met at the center of the field. Slowly but surely, the sliver flames were being pushed back.

"No…way." Lance muttered. "Kai!"

"I will not lose!" Kai shouted. "My father is still out there, waiting for me. I will find him. I promise myself that!"

"Activate, Prideful Roar!"

"What?!" Angela gasped. "When… did he get that?"

"_Yes…this was one of the last cards that Dad gave me…"_

_one of the last_

_Why did Victor give him that card as well? Did he know it would come to this?_

"Roar of Pride allows me increase the attack points of one of my monsters if I am willing to pay life points equal to the difference of our attacks," explained Kai.

"Since my Divine Dragon has 4000 attack points and your Darkness Dragon has 4600, I will give 600 life points in order to boost my dragon's attack points to be 300 more than yours!" (4900/800)

**Kai Asuka (400) – Angela Asuka (1900)**

"Divine Flame Burst!"

Divine Dragon Excelion dug its feet into the ground and gave a ground trembling roar. Its inferno rose into a slivery wildfire, engulfing the whole field in blazes. Red Eyes cried out as it was dissolved by the flames.

**Kai Asuka (400) – Angela Asuka (1600)**

"No…Red Eyes," Angela groaned. _He has gotten stronger…Our little bird can really fly now…_

"This is the end…" Kai said. "The second effect of my Divine Dragon Excelion gives it the ability to inflict damage equal to the attack points of the monster that it just destroyed." The sliver dragon sent a blazing fireball at the female duelist. She took the blow with a smile.

**Kai Asuka (400) – Angela Asuka (0)**

"You did it, Kai!" Lance cheered.

The holograms began to fade. Kai smiled as his sliver dragon disappeared. The smoke from the last attack lingered for a while.

He looked towards his mother, worried. _She is going to be so mad once the smoke clears up._

Much to his surprise, she had a smile on her face. She didn't look sad or angry, instead she seemed relived.

Angela Asuka laughed. "That…was a good duel."

_I don't know what the world would hold for him…_

_I don't know what kind of people he would meet…_

_I don't know what kind of duels he would have to fight…_

_I don't know whether or not he would find who he is looking for…_

_All I know is that I will be there to support him…_

_Take flight_

_Little dragon…_

_

* * *

Happy New Year, everyone!  
2009!  
_


	10. Chapter 10 Ray of Hope

**Chapter 10 – Ray of Hope**

Three people stood in Domino Square, in front of the tall clock. Two of them were just sitting and waiting peacefully, while the third was on her feet, madly prancing about.

Yuna frowned and stared at her watch. "Where are those guys? It is just like Kai to be running late and make everyone wait for him." She strangled the air in front of her, pretending it was someone's neck.

"Patience, Yuna." Musashi said, calmly. "I am sure he would call us if something comes up."

True to his words, Yuna's cell phone began ringing. Yuna picked it up and said, "Hello."

"Yuna?" Kai said on the other side.

"Kai, where are you? We have been waiting here since 9 o clock."

"Something important came up," Kai answered, quickly. "Lance and I are going to running a bit late. We will call you when we are leaving."

"What! Do you know how long we have been waiting out here?" Yuna said.

"Uh… about 15 minutes?"

"Exactly!" Yuna screeched. "Now get over here!"

"Sorry, but it have to wait." Kai replied, seriously. "I will call you later."

Yuna frowned when she heard Kai hang up. She place her cell phone back in her pocket.

"What happened?" Eliza asked.

"He never said," Yuna shrugged. "We will have to ask him when he gets here."

"The real question is what are we going to do until they get here?"

"How about a duel?" asked a man in a red t-shirt and jeans.

Musashi looked at him, suspiciously. After last night, he was a bit warily of randomly appearing people.

The man noticed the look. "Umm, I mean no harm. My name is Randy Owens. I am a participant in the Neo Battle City Tournament as well." He showed them his Duel Bracelet, revealing four stars.

Musashi recognized the name. He was a Pro League duelist. Musashi have heard of his status. A unique and calculating duelist that whose strategy can take many people by surprise.

"I will duel you," Eliza volunteered.

"Hey, I wanted to duel." Yuna objected.

"Sorry, Yuna." Eliza said. "I have a new combo that I am dieing to try out."

"Careful, Eliza." Musashi warned. "Duelists that last the first day of eliminations are obviously stronger than the rest."

Randy smiled as Eliza stood five feet away from him. Both of them activate their duel disks.

"Duel!"

* * *

"Have a seat, Kai." Angela Asuka said. Kai was busy pacing around the room, excitement made it too hard for him to sit. He had just defeated his mother in a duel; a dream of his ever since he started Duel Monsters.

"Sit down, Kai!" Angela snapped. "Don't get so cocky over one duel. You still have many more to come."

Kai sat down next to Lance, ready to hear what his mom had to say.

Angela sighed. "As promised I will tell you what I know about your dad's disappearance. I can't hide it from you anymore. I suppose you are at the right age now."

"Well… I suppose we should start from the very beginning. Your father and I went to the same dueling school like you guys did, Duel Academy of the East. Your father was an arrogant, cocky duelist back then. The two of us didn't get along with each other at first. He was just too hot headed. It took me a while to see that there was actually a deeper side of him…"

"Ah…sorry to interrupt, mom." Kai said. "But I thought we were going to take about dad's disappearance not his relationships."

"But relationships are important," Angela replied. "You see, I was not the only person that your father met at school. He also made one very good friend."

Kai couldn't hold back his question. "Who?"

* * *

**Eliza Troy (8000) – Randy Owens (8000)**

"You can go first, Randy." Eliza said.

"Thanks." He drew and looked over his hand. "I set one monster facedown and one more card facedown. That would be it for me."

"My move," Eliza said. "I summon Royal Knight in attack mode." With a burst of light, a winged fairy in armor stepped onto the field. (1300/800)

"Royal Knight, attack his facedown monster." The knight cut through the facedown card with his sword, revealing a purple worm with spikes.

"Needle Worm…" Yuna said, surprisingly.

"That's right." Randy said. "Since it was flipped, you have to send the top five cards of your deck to the graveyard."

Eliza picked up five cards from her deck. She groaned when she saw what some of them where and placed them in her graveyard slot.

"Still, the effect of my Royal Knight activates." The fairy glowed as he sent an orb of light toward Eliza. "I gain life points equal to the defense of the monster that I destroyed."

**Eliza Troy (8600) – Randy Owens (8000)**

"Your move, Randy." She said. _A deck destruction deck…I have to finish this duel fast._

"If Randy could make Eliza have no cards in her deck," Musashi said. "Randy would win."

"Be careful, Eliza." Yuna muttered.

"I will activate my facedown card, Simultaneous Loss." A purple card rose in front of Randy, depicting a fight being Warrior Dei Grepher and the Lady in the Wasteland. "This trap card forces both players to discard one card from the top of their decks." Both Eliza and Randy discarded one card.

"Next I summon Don Zaloog." A bandit with an eye patch walked onto the field. He held two short daggers with him. (1400/1500)

"Don Zaloog, attack her Royal Knight!" The bandit stabbed the fairy, which disappeared in a shimmer of dust.

**Eliza Troy (8500) – Randy Owens (8000)**

"Next, since I inflicted battle damage on you, Don Zaloog will take away the top two cards of your deck!" The bandit smirked as he slashed Eliza's duel disk. Two cards fell out and Eliza placed it into her graveyard.

"Alright. Now I will place one card facedown and activate this spell card, Gravekeeper's Servant." The green continuous spell card materialized in front of Randy.

"Your turn."

"Careful, Eliza." Yuna said. "That card forces you to discard one card from your deck for every attack that you make."

"I know." Eliza said. _Can't use too many attacks…But at the same time, I must finish this duel fast._

"I summon Dunames Dark Witch!" A girl fairy with white wings flew into view. (1800/1050)

"Attack his Don Zaloog." The fairy fired a magical spell at the bandit. The Gravekeeper's Servant glowed and Eliza place one card from her deck to the graveyard.

"Go spell card! Shrink!" Randy said. "With this card, I will cut the attack points of your monster in half."

"Not quite." Eliza countered. "I activate a card from my hand. Herald of Green Light! By sending it and another fairy from my hand to the graveyard, I can negate and destroy your spell card." A green orb shot out and canceled Randy's spell. Don Zaloog fell and was shattered into pixels.

**Eliza Troy (8500) – Randy Owens (7600)**

"I end my turn." Eliza said.

"Nice move," Randy compliment. "I certain didn't expect a counter like that. I set one monster facedown and place two more cards facedown."

"He is being defensive again." Yuna said.

"Probably has another trap in store." Musashi remarked. "In a duel like this, Randy is not concerned about life points. He is probably keeping track of cards."

* * *

"Who?" Kai repeated.

Angela wringed her hands nervously. "His name…"

"is Leon Alastor."

* * *

"My move." _What could those two cards down cards be? _Eliza wondered as she drew.

"I summon Hysteric Fairy in attack mode." A scholar like fairy holding a book appeared on the field. (1800/500)

_This next card might be useful… _

"I place one card facedown." A facedown card appeared in front of her.

Eliza sent a card from her deck to the graveyard. "Hysteric Fairy, attack his facedown monster."

"Go Waboku!" Randy shouted. A trio of robed women stepped out to block the blast.

"Waboku protects my monster from being destroyed and I wouldn't take any battle damage this turn." Randy explained. "However my monster is still flipped."

The facedown card revealed itself to be a crackling mad jar.

"Meet my Morphing Jar." Randy said. "Both of us have to discard their hand and draw five new cards."

Eliza groaned. She had some cards that she could have used. Both players drew five new cards. Looking over her hand, Eliza ended her turn.

"Eliza's deck just took any other big blow." Yuna said. "Five cards in hand mean five cards out of her deck."

Randy smiled. _That's right. If she has a 40 card deck, then she has seventeen cards left in her deck._

"I activate my trap card, Robbing Zombie." Randy said. A continuous purple card rose up with a picture of an old decaying goblin.

"That trap card," Musashi said. "Every times, Eliza takes battle damage she will lose the top card of her deck."

"Time to show a new face." Randy announced. "I sacrifice my Morphing Jar to summon the Vampire Lord!" The jar disappeared in a puff of smoke. A chuckle could be heard through the field as the vampire descended onto the field. (2000/1500)

"Vampire Lord, attack her Hysteric Fairy." The vampire spread his cloak and bats flew out, attacking the fairy.

**Eliza Troy (8300) – Randy Owens (7600)**

"Since I inflict battle damage to you, you lose the top card of your deck thanks to Robbing Zombie." Eliza sent the top card of her already slim deck to the graveyard.

"Also the effect of my Vampire Lord activates, I can declare one kind of card and if it exists in your deck, you must discard it." Randy smiled. "How about a spell card?"

Eliza skimmed through her deck and picked out a spell card. Then she placed it into her graveyard.

"Next, I will place two cards facedown and end my turn." Randy concluded.

"Randy is a tough customer," Yuna said. "He knows that only chance of Eliza winning is if she can take away all of his life points. So he is carefully setting traps to protect himself. Even if Eliza could attack, she would have to play the cost of his Gravekeeper's Servant in order to do so. But that would only quicken the process."

Eliza drew wordlessly. _More traps…I have to get rid of his Vampire Lord, before I lose anymore cards._

"Since I have plenty of monsters in the graveyard, by removing two light monsters from my graveyard, I special summon Soul of Purity and Light." A translucent angel materialized in front of her. It glowed brightly. (2000/1800)

"Can't let you destroy my Vampire Lord." Randy said. "I activate Threatening Roar." A loud bellow echoed throughout the field.

"Since I can't declare an attack, there isn't much I can do." Eliza muttered.

"Oh, but there is something I can do." Randy pushed a button on his duel disk. "Activate trap card, Assualt on GHQ!"

"By destroying one of my own monsters, I can force you to discard the top two cards of your deck." The Vampire Lord raked two cards from Eliza's deck before dissolved into mound of red dust.

"He sacrificed one of his own monsters just to destroy take out two cards from her deck." Yuna said. "He must have something big planned."

"I will set two more cards facedown. Your move." Eliza said. _With the three cards I have facedown, I should be safe._

_

* * *

  
_

"Leon Alastor?" Lance racked his mind for a moment. "I don't recognize that name for anywhere."

"Well unlike Kai's dad and I," Angela explained. "He didn't become a Pro League duelist. Instead, he became a duel professor, teaching and researching about game theory. I guess you guys don't know any duel professors."

"Anyway," she said, turning to Kai. "He and your dad used to be close friends, much like you and Lance. Often times they would be dashing off to their next mischievous plot or dueling each other non-stop. The two of them were perhaps the two most well known duelists of our class."

"If Alastor was that good, why did he become a duel professor?"

"That is a good question." Angela shrugged. "I am not so sure. While I did talk with him a few times, I never got really close to him. Alastor was a bit quiet. He doesn't let one in on his thoughts."

"Expect for Dad," Kai said.

"Yes…" Angela nodded. "From what I know, Alastor was always fascinated by Duel Monsters, not the game, but the actual monsters. Have you heard of the Domino Monster incident?"

"Oh," Lance perked up. "I remember reading about it. It was back in the days of the Duel King Yugi Muto. Apparently, a large group of monster appeared in Domino City and began terrorizing the place. Seto Kaiba denied having any connections with the incident. And one night, they just disappeared into the sky. Many people thought it was a publicity stunt."

"I doubt it." Angela said. "Alastor believed that these monsters were real and that they come from another dimension. His theory was reinforced when he found out the incidents around the Duel Academy."

"Duel Academy? The same one that we go to?" Kai asked.

"Yes." she confirmed. "I don't know why you seem so surprised. It is true that the principal and staff tried to cover up everything but you must have heard of some rumors. Rumors concerning Duel spirits and different dimensions."

"Different dimensions? Does that have to do anything with the missing students in the past?"

"Perhaps…There was this one rumor about how the Duel Academy traveled into a different dimension filled with Duel monsters. After Jaden Yuki and his friends managed to bring the school back, they found a way transport themselves into another world in search for a lost friend."

"Did that really happen?" Kai was shocked.

"What are the chances? Two Duel monsters incident relating to the two past Duel Kings…" Lance murmured.

"When Alastor found about the incident, he immediately told your dad and they set off towards a new goal, a new project that became part of their dreams."

"Don't tell me…" Kai muttered. "They planed to make a gate…"

"A gate to the Duel Monsters World."

* * *

"Okay." Randy smiled as he drew. "Let's welcome back an old friend shall we?" A coffin rose from the ground and out came the Vampire Lord. (2000/1500)

"How did you…?" Eliza asked. She didn't expect to see him again.

"The effect of Assault on GHQ destroys the monster that it selects." Musashi explained. "When Vampire Lord is destroyed by a card effect, your opponent's or your own, it would return to the field at your standby phase. In the end, Randy payed nothing to activate his trap card."

Eliza quietly analyzed the situation. _Even through he brought his Vampire Lord back, it wouldn't have enough attack points to destroy any of my monsters. My Soul of Purity and Light decrease the attack points of all his monsters by 300 points._

"By my last count, you only have 12 cards left in your deck, Eliza." Randy said, casually.

"Enough to win this," Eliza answered, as confidently as she can.

"Oh, really?" He smirked. "Perhaps we should lower the numbers then."

"I activate a spell card, Cup of Ace." A green card with a picture of a golden cup appeared in front of him and began spinning.

"This might seem to be a really weird card but it is just a game of chance." Randy explained. "When you say stop, the card will stop spinning. If the card is upright, I get to draw two cards. If it is upside down, you get to draw two cards. Simple?"

"With a card like that," Musashi said. "Randy can't lose."

"If it is upright, Randy gets to draw and if it is upside down, Eliza loses two more cards from her deck," said Yuna. "Talk about a win-win."

Eliza tried to track the movements of the spinning card. "Stop." She called.

The card stopped spinning. Eliza groaned when she saw it was upside down. She drew two more cards.

"Now only ten cards left." Randy said. "But I wouldn't stop there. I summon Iron Chain Snake." A small set of chains materialized in front of him. It hissed and coiled up like a snake. (800/800)

"This little guy can equip itself to one of you monsters. Just watch and see." The snake pounced forward and wrapped itself around Eliza's Soul of Purity and Light. Its glow dimmed as its attack points dropped by 800 points. (1200/1000)

"As you can see, it's not very helpful, since it decreases your attack and defense points by 800 so my Vampire Lord can finish it off." The Vampire Lord slashed at the fairy with his claws, cutting the spirit into pieces.

**Eliza Troy (7800) – Randy Owens (7600)**

"Remember Robbing Zombie's effect." Eliza discarded another card.

"And Vampire Lord's effect too." Randy reminded her. "I think you are all out of spells. So perhaps a monster?" Eliza found a monster in her deck and placed it in her graveyard. _Now I am really low on cards…How bad can this get?_

"Now time to use a new effect," said Randy. "The effect of my Iron Chain Snake activates when it was equip on a monster that was destroyed in battle. You have to discard one card equal to the level of your monster."

"Soul of Purity and Light is a six star monster." Yuna realized. "So that means six cards!"

Eliza couldn't believe that her deck was whittled down to just two cards left.

"What a dangerous situation…" Musashi said. "Even if Randy doesn't do anything, this duel will be over soon. With only two cards left, all Randy has to do is wait two turns."

Randy smiled. _As if I would even have to wait that long._

_

* * *

  
_

"Wait a minute!" Lance shouted. "Are you saying that they actually create a portal and Kai's father went through and never came back?"

"That is not what I meant." Angela answered. "The two of them didn't seem to be able to make any sort of gate during their time at the Duel Academy. Perhaps this was because something happened between the two of them."

"What happened?" Kai questioned.

"Your father never told me." Angela said. "One day, the two of them were fast friends and were planning to find a way to make the gate. The next day, they could stand being in the same room together. When I tried asking Victor, he just won't say anything to me. So I let the matter drop."

"Did you try to find Alastor?" Lance asked.

"When Victor disappeared, I looked everywhere for him. I searched all the old places, asked all his relatives, everyone that knew him. However I could not find was Leon Alastor. He also seemed to have disappeared." Angela shook her head sadly.

"But…" Angela looked directly at Kai. "I strongly believed that if you find him, you will find your dad."

* * *

"Now I will place one more card facedown." Randy said. "That would be it for my move."

_It will be your last move._

"Hold on, at the end phase of you turn, I activate Scapegoat." Eliza said. Four miniature goats of different colors floated around Eliza's Dunames Dark Fairy.

"What good would they do you?" Randy asked. "It's not like they can stop your deck from being destroyed."

_He's right. _Eliza stared warily at her deck. Every time she draws, she is going to have one less card in her deck. Even if Randy doesn't do anything, she would lose in just three turns.

"Don't give up, Eliza!" Yuna shouted. "You still didn't lose yet. You still have life points and you still have cards. Win!"

"Come on, Eliza." Musashi said. "Don't let your brother down."

Eliza nodded, firmly. _That's right. I must not lose hope. I have everything I need right here._

"Draw!" she shouted.

Randy smiled. "This was a good duel. But I am afraid all good things must come to an end."

"I activate the Gift of Greed!" A green smiling pot much like the one on the Pot of Greed floated in front of Eliza.

"That card…" Yuna murmured. "It allows Eliza to draw two cards. But wait! Eliza only has one card in her deck."

"That means she wouldn't be able to draw twice," Musashi realized. "And therefore lose the duel!"

"Not yet!" shouted Eliza. "I chain, Ray of Hope!" A beam of light fall from the sky and illuminated her.

"With this card, I will return two light monsters from my graveyard into my deck." She picked out two cards and slid them into her deck slot.

"Now she has three cards in her deck," Yuna cried. "She wouldn't lose."

"As long as there is hope, I will still win." Eliza stated, determinedly.

"Adding more cards into her deck in order to avoid losing," Randy muttered. "You are quite a duelist. What is your family name?"

"Troy. I am Eliza Troy." Eliza stated as she drew two cards.

"Troy…" Randy's face lit up. "Are you Paris Troy's sister?"

"Yes," Eliza admitted.

Randy smiled and began laughing. "No wonder. No wonder. I should have known." He muttered over and over.

"What are you laughing about?" asked Eliza.

"I would tell you later," Randy said. "Make your move, Eliza Troy. I am sure it would be a spectacular one."

"Alright," Eliza said. "Time to get rid of your annoying spell and trap cards with this. Heavy Storm!" The gusting winds blew Randy's cards apart.

"With that Gravekeeper's Servant gone, Eliza could attack as many times as she want." Yuna grinned.

"Now, let's take this duel somewhere far away. I play Sanctuary of the Sky." Eliza placed a card in her field card zone. The floor became a mass of clouds, and an ancient, stone temple rose behind her. It was topped by a spire holding a glowing orb.

"Next, I sacrifice my Dunames Dark Fairy for my Airknight Parshath." A ray of light enveloped the girl fairy. Out of the light was an armored centaur with a golden sword and shield. (1900/1400)

"But he is not strong enough to defeat your Vampire Lord, so I will have to call out his master." Airknight Parshath bowed and disappeared, making way for his master, Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin. The paladin's grand halo filled the field with a strong light. (2500/2000)

"Is that all?" Randy said. "500 more attack points will not let you win the game."

Eliza smiled. "I activate Rainbow Life."

"I have to discard one card to use the powerful effect of this card. Until the end of this turn, when I take damage, I will gain it instead."

"But I can't attack you this turn." Randy said. "What are you planning to do?"

"I think it is time for you to see what my little goats can do." Eliza pointed at the Vampire Lord. "Scapegoats, attack!"

The goats charged mindlessly at the vampire, who batted them away franticly.

"Normally, I should be taking 2000 damage for every attack and you would be able to discard four cards from my deck," Eliza said. "But thanks to Rainbow Life, I will gain 8000 life points instead."

**Eliza Troy (15800) – Randy Owens (7600)**

"Wow," Yuna was stunned. "She has more than doubled her life points!"

"Life points aren't going to save you from decking out, Eliza." Randy reminded her.

Eliza smiled. "Let me tell you something. My Sky Paladin doesn't have 2500 attack points to begin with. It was thanks to his special ability. Which I think now would be a good time to update his attack points."

The halo on back of Neo-Parashath radiated as if it was the sun itself. Even the bystanders had to covered their eyes. (10,500/2000)

"What!" Randy yelled in disbelief. "Its attack points are OVER NINE THOUSAND!"

"That's right. When the Sanctuary of the Sky is on the field, my Sky Paladin gains attack points equal to the difference between our life points." Eliza explained. "And it is quite a big difference."

"Neo-Parashath! Attack Vampire Lord with Radiant Heavens Blade!" The vampire screamed as the serene paladin got closer to him. It couldn't stand the brilliance and dissolved into ashes. The attack continued and Randy was knocked away as his life points plummeted all the way to zero.

**Eliza Troy (15800) – Randy Owens (0)**

"What a scary move," Musashi said. "She got so much stronger."

"Great job, Eliza!" Yuna cheered.

Eliza smiled and walked over to Randy. She offered him a hand to help him up. "Sorry about that. Things went a bit over the top I guess."

Randy laughed and accepted her hand. "No problem. That was an amazing move."

"So what were you laughing about back then?" Eliza asked when Randy got back on his feet.

"Oh," Randy smiled. "When I realize you were Paris's sister, I kinda had this feeling that things were not going to go my way. I remember facing your brother in the Pro Leagues once. He used a deck that relied on cards in his deck. I was sure I could beat him. But I couldn't have been more wrong. He worked around my cards and completely blew my life points away."

Eliza grinned. "That sounds like my brother to me."

"Now I lost to both of you Troy's siblings." Randy said. "You guys are strong."

"Thank you." Eliza smiled

That was perhaps the first time she was held in the same regard as her brother.

* * *

_Find him and you will find your father…_Those words echoed in Kai's head. He gulped and asked. "How can we find him? You said he disappeared."

Angela smiled. "I thought so as well. But recently I discovered something. Looking over the online guest list for KaibaCorp's Neo Battle City, I discovered his name as one of the duelists in the tournament."

Lance gasped. "So you mean that he is here in Domino City?"

"Then we can track him down." Kai realized.

"It might not be that easy." Angela said. "Having been in hiding for so long, Alastor probably knows how to down below our usual radar. I doubt you can just bump into him here. However, he is an incredible duelist. I wouldn't be surprised to find him in the finals."

"So in order to find him, I would have to get into the finals." Kai muttered to himself. "Is that why you duel me, to give me an extra star in the tournament?"

Angela smiled. "I duel you test out how much you have grown. I had no plans on losing that duel. You have gotten stronger, Kai."

"Thank you." Kai grinned.

Lance looked glanced at the time. "I think we should get going. The others are waiting for us, Kai and the faster we get a duel, the faster we can head to the finals."

Kai nodded. "That's right. There is no time to lose."

Both of them grabbed their bags and headed out the front door. Before closing the door, Kai shouted "Bye mom."

"I'm sorry…"

Kai turned back around to see his mother slouched over on her chair. The way her hair fell on her face made her seem so much older than she was now.

She continued without looking at your son. "Do you know how hard it was? To keep up hope and not think about the possibility that someone you love could be dead. Do you know how hard it was to wake up everyday and see that man that you married was gone from your life? It was too much. I was sick of crying. I had to let go…"

"I am sorry, Kai…"

Kai tried to swallow but it was just too hard. It felt as through there was an amazing weight on his throat. He hates seeing his mom like this.

"You don't have to worry." He said, firmly. "The rainy days are over. As long as a ray of hope still exists, I don't want to left in the dark. I will find him. As long as you believe in me, I will find him."

Angela smiled. "I believe in you."

_Believe…_

_A simple word_

_That can instill greatness._

_A simple thought_

_That can change the world._


	11. Chapter 11 Roll Out!

**Chapter 11 – Roll Out!**

Standing on the roof of a tall building, Rebecca Ven flexed her fingers. It was about 10 am and still no one came to duel her. She was getting very impatient.

Perhaps the bad thing about being an Eliminator was that you can't go off and find your own duels. You have to wait by at your post and let people come to you. And only fools come to challenge Eliminators. Rebecca smiled. Just yesterday, she had already defeated a bunch of idiots that thought they had what it took to face an Eliminator. Such fools…

The door creaked open. Rebecca smiled as she saw a man walked in. He was wearing a black cloak with a hood over his face. Quite suspicious but Rebecca didn't care. He wwas a duelist and that was all Rebecca needed to know.

"So you came to meet your doom, huh?" she chuckled as she activated her duel disk.

The man said nothing, but activated his duel disk as well.

"Oh the strong silent type..." Rebecca said. "Well then let's see how well you duel!"

* * *

A familiar ring tone began playing. Yuna took her phone out of her pocket and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Yuna?" said the voice on the other side.

"Kai, are you guys coming?"

"Yeah, we are leaving now. Are you guys still at Domino Square?"

"Yea."

"Okay, we would be there in a few moments."

Yuna groaned. For Kai, a few moments usually never turn out to be a few moments. "Okay, fine. Hurry up." She hanged up and put the phone away.

"Kai, again?" Musashi asked.

"Yea," she confirmed. "They're on their way."

Eliza sighed. "Guess we have more waiting to do…"

Yuna jumped to her feet and shouted. "Then in that case, let's find me a duel!"

There were several duels around Domino Square. It was still the morning of the second day but duelists were eager for duels. Everyone was racing to fill up the top eights spots in the finals.

Off to the side, an explosion could be heard. A duelist fell to the ground, groaning. A teenager stood over him. "And that's game, my friend. Thanks for my fourth star."

"Oh, he seems strong…" Eliza muttered.

Yuna stalked over the teenager and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, you! Duel me!"

The teenager was surprised but he smiled anyway. "How can I resist a challenge from such a beautiful girl? But do tell, what is your name?"

"Yuna Kenshi, the girl that is about to kick your ass," Yuna stood a few feet away and activated her duel disk.

The male duelist laughed. "I am not so sure about that. My name is Howard Pike and I am going to be the one in the finals."

"Duel!"

Yuna Kenshi (8000) – Howard Pike(8000)

"So let's get this show on the road," Howard placed a card on his disk. "I summon the Shining Angel in attack mode." With a burst of light, an angel with white wings stepped onto the field. (1400/1000)

"That's all for my turn," Howard said.

"So, a light deck, judging from the fact that he played Shining Angel," Eliza muttered.

"True, but there are many light monsters." Musashi added. "We would just have to see when Yuna attacks."

"My move," Yuna shouted. "I activate the spell card, Reinforcements of the Army." The green card rose in front of her. "I added my Masked Knight Lv 3 into my hand."

"Now I summon him." A small iron knight walked onto the field. (1500/800)

"Masked Swordsman, attack his Shining Angel." The warrior cleaved the angel in two.

Yuna Kenshi (8000) – Howard Pike (7900)

"Thank you, Yuna." Howard said. "Because you just let me summon my Z Metal Tank." A yellow armored tank rolled in front of him. (1500/1300)

"So a XYZ union deck, huh?" Yuna muttered. "This could be interesting."

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." A card appeared in front of Yuna.

"Something tells me this is not just a XYZ deck," Musashi murmured. "Perhaps it has two more letters…"

"That is quite a nice looking monster you got there," Howard commented. "I never saw it before. But I have a nice looking card here too."

"I play the spell card, Soul Absorption." The continuous spell card appeared in front of him.

"This card gives me 500 life points every time one of my monsters is removed from play." Howard explained.

"How many times is that going to happened?" Eliza wondered.

"If he plays his cards right…" Musashi answered. "A lot of times."

"Next, I summon X Head Cannon." A blue machine with shoulder cannons materialized onto the field. (1800/1500)

"I could attack now…"Howard said. "But that facedown card bothers me. I guess I should just get rid of it."

"X Head Cannon, Z Metal Tank, combine!" Electricity crackled as the blue cannon rested onto the yellow tank. "XZ Tank Cannon." (2400/2100)

His Soul Absorption glowed. "Ahh yes. In order to create my XZ Tank Cannon, I had to remove my X Head Cannon and Z Metal Tank from play. Thus Soul Absorption activates and gives me 500 life points per monster."

Yuna Kenshi (8000) – Howard Pike (8900)

"Woah, that means Howard can get at least 1000 life points everything he combines them." Eliza said.

"And let's not forget about XZ Tank Cannon's effect," Musashi added. "By discarding one card, Howard could destroy one facedown spell or trap on the field."

"That's right," Howard said. "So I discard this card to destroy that facedown card of yours." He placed a card into the graveyard. XZ Tank Cannon aimed its weapons and fired at Yuna's facedown card. Her Mirror Force shattered like glass.

"That's a pretty good effect," Yuna muttered.

"I can see the flaw in it already." Eliza replied. "Howard's hand is going to run out soon with all that discarding."

"It should, right?" Howard smiled. "However the card I discard was this." He held up the spell card that he sent to the graveyard. "Ojamagic. A weird spell card that when discarded allows me to place three specific monsters into my hand."

He quickly flipped through his deck and pulled out three cards. "Ojama Yellow, Ojama Black and Ojama Green!"

"That's quite a smart tech card." Musashi said. "With a card like that, he could replenish the cards in his hand and have ammo to activate his XYZ's effect."

"XZ Tank Cannon, attack her Masked Swordsman!" The machine fired a blazing shell at the warrior.

Yuna Kenshi (7100) – Howard Pike (8900)

"Your turn, Yuna." Howard said.

"You took that strategy from Chazz Princeton, didn't you?" asked Yuna, as she drew a card.

"You must admit," Howard shrugged. "That guy was a genius to combine both themes."

"I believe that he combined them, not for their effectiveness but because they both were a part of whom he was." Yuna replied.

"I set one monster facedown and I place one more card facedown." A facedown monster appeared before her with a facedown card behind it.

"End turn," Yuna said.

"Why did she set a card facedown when XZ Tank Cannon could just blow it up?" Eliza asked.

"Maybe, Yuna has something planned." Musashi answered. He hoped he was right.

"My turn." Howard announced. "I am not only going to take care of that trap but I will take card of the monster as well."

"I summon another Z Metal Tank to the field." The yellow tank returned to the field. (1500/1300)

"Next I play another continuous spell card, Frontline Base." A spell card with the image of a knight on a black dragon rose in front of him."

"By using the effect of Frontline Base, I can special summon one Union monster to the field. Come forth, Y Dragon Head!" With a mechanic roar, a red mechanized dragon flew into view. (1500/1600)

"He's going to combine them again!" Eliza realized.

"Ready to roll, YZ Dragon Tank!" The red dragon folded its wings and perched onto the metal tank. (2100/2200)

"Let's not forget that since I summoned out another fusion, I remove two of my monsters." Howard said as he gained life points from his Soul Absorption card.

Yuna Kenshi (7100) – Howard Pike (9900)

"This new combination's special ability allows me to discard a card to destroy one facedown monster on the field." Howard explained as he tossed a card into the graveyard. The dragon tank shot a blinding mine at the facedown card, revealing a Mystic Swordsman.

"Sorry, buddy…" Yuna groaned.

"Now time to take care of your other card." Howard discarded another Ojama. XZ Tank Cannon shattered the other facedown card. When it did so, a purple mist emerged from the card and a malicious yellow token appeared. (1000/1000)

"What is that?" Howard asked, puzzled by the appearance of another monster.

"The card that your XZ Tank Cannon destroyed was my Statue of the Wicked." Yuna explained. "When it is sent to the graveyard, I get to special summon a wicked token on my side of the field in defense mode."

"Yuna played that card facedown because she wanted it to be destroyed." Musashi said. "A smart move to force Howard to waste another card."

Eliza shook her head. "Still, is it enough to protect her life points?"

"YZ Dragon Tank, attack her token." The tank blasted through the evil statue.

"XZ Tank Cannon, direct attack!" Yuna braced herself as she was hit twin blasts.

Yuna Kenshi (4700) – Howard Pike (9900)

"Whether Yuna is trying to do, it doesn't seem to be working," Eliza muttered.

"Howard got a good deck put together." Musashi said. "Each card is used to create an advantage."

"Yuna, don't give up!"

Yuna looked over and saw Kai and Lance waving towards her.

"Kai… Lance…"

"Keep it up, Yuna." Kai shouted.

"You can win this!" Lance yelled.

"Looks like you guys are just in time for the show." Musashi smiled

"Draw!" Yuna shouted.

"I summon Silent Swordsman Lv 3." She placed a card on her disk and a boy with a large sliver sword appeared on the field. (1000/1000)

"Next I activate the spell card, Level Up!" From a blinding ray of light out emerged a new warrior, a taller swordsman with an even larger sword. (2300/1000)

"Silent Swordsman Lv 5, take down his YZ Dragon Tank!" Without a word, the warrior slashed through the machine.

Yuna Kenshi (4700) – Howard Pike (9700)

"Alright, Yuna!" Kai cheered.

"Nice monster, but it seems like Howard still has the upper hand." Lance said.

"I will end my turn after placing this card facedown." Yuna said as the facedown card materialized in front of her.

_Is she bluffing…my XZ Tank could take out her facedown…_Howard pondered on the situation as he drew his next card. _If she knew that then why did she place the facedown? Just a decoy?_

"I might be a bit cautious," Howard said. "But I will discard another card to destroy that facedown of yours." The tank fired a shot at the Yuna's facedown.

"Chain, Shadow Spell!" Steel chains flew from her trap card and bind the armored tank in placed. It tried to break loose but the chains held in down firmly. (1700/2100)

"Not only does my trap card stops your monster from attacking," Yuna said. "But it also decreases its attack by 700."

"Darn…it was a trap." Howard looked over his hand. _Nothing more than I can do…_

"End turn," He said.

"My move," Yuna started her turn with a spell card. "I play The Warrior Returning Alive, which allows me to return one warrior from my graveyard to my hand." She took a card from her graveyard. "And now I summon it to the field."

"Return, Masked Knight Lv 3!" The iron knight walked onto the field. (1500/800)

"Silent Swordsman, attack his XZ Dragon Tank!" The warrior's huge sword cut through the machine without trouble.

Yuna Kenshi (4700) – Howard Pike (9100)

"Masked Knight, direct attack!" The knight charged at Howard fearlessly, smashing his sword on him. Howard grunted under the force of the blow but stayed on his feet.

Yuna Kenshi (4700) – Howard Pike (7600)

"It's your move now, Howard!" Yuna shouted.

"Yuna is starting to even the score." Eliza smiled.

"Still Howard got a good lead." Kai said. "This isn't going to be ending anytime soon."

"Draw!" Howard shouted. He looked over his hand "Darn…Seems like this is all I can do for now."

He placed a monster facedown and set two cards behind it. "That would be it. End turn."

"Okay, my move." Yuna smiled. "Time for my Masked Knight to level up to Masked Knight Lv 5!" The iron knight grew taller and wore a more ornate suit of armor. (2300/1300)

Yuna looked at the two facedown cards. _What is the chance that those two are traps? _"Silent Swordsman, attack his monster." The swordsman slashed through the facedown the card, revealing another Y-Dragon Head.

"No traps, huh?" Yuna muttered. "Masked Knight, attack him directly!"

"Go! Trap card!" Howard yelled.

"Oh, shoot!" Yuna swore.

"Don't worry, girl." Howard reassured her. "It is just a card known as Backup Solider."

"Wait," Yuna realized. "I know what that does. You get to add three normal monsters back into your hand."

"That's right," Howard said as he placed the three Ojamas back into his hand.

"Still, Masked Knight, attack! Persona Twin Slash!" The warrior brought his sword down on Howard. This time, he fell down on the ground.

Yuna Kenshi (4700) – Howard Pike (5300)

"Way to go, Yuna," Eliza cheered.

"She seems to be in total control now," Lance said.

Musashi frowned. "If that is so, then why is Howard so calm?"

"Don't soften up now," Howard warned. "Just because you got a good blow in doesn't mean that this duel is over."

"I activate Magical Mallet." He took his deck from its slot. "This card allows me to add my hand back into my deck and draw the same number of cards back." He placed his three cards into his deck. Giving it a brief shuffle, he drew three cards.

"Nice…" He muttered. "I summon X Head Cannon." The blue machine with twin cannons rolled onto the field. (1800/1500)

"Next, I activate Roll Out!" He gestured and a purple card rose in front of him. "This trap calls out a union monster from the graveyard and equips it to one of my monsters."

"Roll Out! Y Dragon Head." The X Head Dragon mounted the Y-Dragon Head. (2200/1900)

"I will activate Y-Dragon Head's effect and special summon itself onto the field." Y Dragon Head detach from the cannon. (1500/1600) (1800/1300)

"He's going to make another combination." Kai realized.

"Combine to form XY Dragon Cannon!" The two machines joined together again. (2200/1900)

Yuna Kenshi (4700) – Howard Pike (6300)

"This guy is never going to stop gaining life points is he?" Eliza muttered. "That was another 1000 gain from removing two monsters from play."

"I am not finish yet." Howard said. "My machine is still far from perfect. I active the effect of Frontline Base to summon Heavy Mech Support Platform." A white and red attachment part flew into view. (500/500)

"Attach!" XY Dragon Cannon joined with the mobile platform, receiving a surge of energy. (2700/2400)

"Heavy Mech Support Platform is a union monster that gives my machine a 500 points boost."

"Time of some payback. XY Dragon Cannon, attack his Masked Knight!" The cannon directed its weapons at the armored warrior. With a single blast, it annihilated the knight before it could make a move.

Yuna Kenshi (4400) – Howard Pike (6300)

"Shoot…" muttered Yuna. "I place one card facedown and that would be it for my turn."

A single card appeared behind the stoic swordsman.

"Why didn't Yuna switch Silent Swordsman into defense mode?" Eliza wondered.

"XY Dragon Cannon, Fire!" Howard shouted. The mechanic dragon rose in the air as it charged its cannons.

"I will activate a trap card! Widespread Ruin!" Yuna cried. "This card will destroy your monster with the strongest attack." The machine exploded in midair.

"Tch…but since Heavy Mech Support Platform is equip onto XY Dragon Cannon, I can destroy it instead in order to save my cannon." The XY Dragon Cannon detached from the platform and flew away from the explosion. (2200/1900)

"True, but now it is weaker than my Silent Swordsman. Silent Swordsman! Counter attack!" The warrior leapt upwards and slashed through the airborne cannon, causing debris to rain down onto the field.

Yuna Kenshi (4400) – Howard Pike (6200)

"I shouldn't have walked right into that trap," Howard scorned himself. "I place one card facedown and set a monster in defense mode." Two cards appeared before him.

"My move!" Yuna shouted as she drew. "I summon Mystic Swordsman Lv 2!" A short warrior in a white uniform stepped onto the field. (900/0)

"Mystic Swordsman, attack his facedown card." The small warrior easily diced the facedown card into pieces.

"Hey, I know my Ojama is weak but it should still have enough defense points to block your Mystic Swordsman." Howard objected.

"Mystic Swordsman can destroy any facedown monster before damage calculation," explained Yuna.

"Now, Silent Swordsman, direct attack!" Howard dropped to one knee as the stoic warrior plunged his sword into him.

Yuna Kenshi (4400) – Howard Pike (3900)

"I set one card." Yuna slid a card into her duel disk. "I end my turn."

Silent Swordsman began to glow and transformed. He grew taller and bulk up. He also got a bigger sword, one that was the size of his body.

"Oh, I almost forgot. When Silent Swordsman makes a direct attack, I can level him up at the end of the turn to his final form, Silent Swordsman Lv 7." (2800/1000)

"Also let me warn you," Yuna said. "Silent Swordsman locks down both players. He can negate all spell cards on the field."

"Great," Lance said. "Now, Yuna got him completely pinned down."

"Remember, she can't play spells either," Kai reminded him. "Is it really worth it?"

"I know Yuna's deck," Musashi said. "She uses mostly traps cards in order to get around her Silent Swordsman's effect. So the only one lock down is her opponent."

Eliza looked over at Howard. "He doesn't seem too worried."

"Nice moves," Howard complimented as he drew a card. "Your swordsman is pretty cool but his effect wouldn't help you much. Because the next card I am going to play is a trap card. Return from a Different Dimension!"

A point over Howard's head began to warp and compress into itself. Suddenly it expanded into a portal. Five figures rushed through the portal and materialized in front of Howard.

"What?!" Yuna gasped. "How did you summon all those machines at once?"

"That was a powerful trap card." Musashi said. "It allows Howard to special summon as many removed from play monsters that he want by paying half of his life points. And remember every since one of his machines were removed from play in order to summon those fusions."

Howard smiled as he looked over his army of vehicles. He had two X Head Cannons (1800/1300), two Y Dragon Heads (1500/1600) and one Z Metal Tank (1500/1300).

Yuna Kenshi (4400) – Howard Pike (1950)

"Now with my army ready, it is time to roll out!" Howard commanded. "I merge my X Head Cannon, Y Dragon Head, and Z Metal Tank to form XYZ Dragon Cannon!" The air crackled as the three machines attached to one another. The Z metal tank was on the bottom, then came the Y dragon head and finally on the top with the X head cannon. The union of machines hummed and powered up their weapons. It was ready to fire. (2800/2600)

"That is one strong fusion," Eliza muttered.

Yuna frowned. "Still, my Silent Swordsman prevent you Soul Absorption from give you any life points."

"So he can even stop continuous spells." Howard said. "Well let's have a look at my XYZ Dragon Cannon's effect."

"By discard one card from my hand," Howard placed his own card into the graveyard. "I can destroy any card on the field." The Dragon Cannon demolished the silent warrior with a fearsome barrage of shells.

"Oh, no…" Yuna groaned.

"Y Dragon Head, take out her Mystic Swordsman." The mechanic dragon fired a laser at the small warrior.

Yuna Kenshi (3800) – Howard Pike (1950)

"X Dragon Head, direct attack!" The blue cannon shoot a blazing missile at Yuna. Yuna clutched her stomach as she struggled to remain standing.

Yuna Kenshi (2000) – Howard Pike (1950)

"This is it. XYZ Dragon Cannon, Delta Photon Blast!" The huge tank aimed its armaments at Yuna. Energy gathered in front of its nozzles as it prepared to fire.

"Look out, Yuna!" Kai cried.

"It's going to fire!" Eliza shouted.

The blast rocketed towards Yuna, who quickly activated a button on her duel disk.

"Go! Draining Shield!" A glowing force field surrounded Yuna, causing the blast to dissipate as it touched the shield.

Howard frowned. "With that card you can stop my attack and gain life points from it."

Yuna Kenshi (4800) – Howard Pike (1950)

"That was a good save," Lance said.

Kai took a deep breath. "She had me scared for a moment there."

"Well, at least I got rid of your Silent Swordsman." Howard smiled. "I end my turn."

A portal opened under the Y Dragon Head and Z Metal Tank. Both of them dropped through the gateway and disappeared.

"Return from the Different Dimension only last for one turn. So the monster special summon by its effect must return to the removed from play area. And you know, when that happens, I get 500 life points for each."

Yuna Kenshi (4800) – Howard Pike (2950)

"Draw!" Yuna looked over the cards in her hand. _I might have more life points but I could see that I am certain not in control anymore. I just get to hope my next draw can help me._

"I set one monster facedown and end my turn."

"Hang in there Yuna," Kai muttered.

"Did you forget?" Howard chuckled as he drew. "No matter what cards you have, my XYZ Dragon Cannon can destroy it!" He discarded again and watched as Yuna's facedown card blow up.

A small furry creature with wings appeared. It floated around the field and winked at Yuna.

Yuna smiled. "Thank, buddy."

The little creature faded away, leaving behind a wave of dust.

"Winged Kuriboh?" Howard asked.

"Yup. When it is sent to the graveyard, I take no damage for this turn." Yuna said. "Looks like you are wasted that card for nothing."

"Hmm, still you're just stalling," said Howard. "I end my turn."

"Looks like Yuna survived yet again." Lance said.

"Yuna, don't give up." Eliza shouted.

"I never will," Yuna responded as she drew. "I activate the spell card, Pot of Avarice. I can return five monsters in my graveyard back into my deck and draw two more cards." Yuna chose five of her level warriors and returned them back into her deck. Next, she drew two cards.

"Nice," she said. "I activate Monster Reborn. Come forth, Masked Knight Lv 5!" The armored knight rose from the ground and crouched in defense mode. (2300/1300)

"Your warrior doesn't have enough attack points to defeat my Dragon Cannon." Howard pointed out.

"I know," Yuna said. "But I can still do some damage this turn. Masked Knight! Persona Twin Blast!" The knight slashed the air, sending two shockwaves straight through Howard.

Yuna Kenshi (4800) – Howard Pike (1950)

"Alright. I end my turn." Yuna said.

"My move," Howard stated. "I play Pot of Greed!" A jolly green jar floated in front of him. Howard drew two more cards.

"Nice," He chuckled. "I use the effect of my Frontline Base to special summon W Wing Catapult." A blue gilder flew in front of him. (1300/1500)

"Next, I summon V Tiger Jet." A yellow jet with a tiger shaped head soar into view. (1600/1800)

"Both of the remaining pieces…" Musashi muttered. "Is he going to summon that colossal monster?"

"V Tiger Jet! Attack her Masked Knight!" The Masked Knight stood no chance against the multiple cannon shells.

"XYZ Dragon Cannon, W Wing Catapult. Direct attack!" The two machines fired small missiles at Yuna, knocking her off her feet.

Yuna Kenshi (700) – Howard Pike (1950)

"Yuna!" Kai cried.

"Hang in there." Eliza shouted.

"I am not done yet." Howard continued. "I will combine my V Tiger Jet and W Wing Catapult to form VW Tiger Catapult!" The two joined together to form an even stronger machine.

"And of course, Soul Absorption gives me 1000 life points."

Yuna Kenshi (700) – Howard Pike (2950)

"Even now, he is gaining more life points." Lance remarked.

"Now to take it to an even higher level!" Howard yelled. "XYZ Dragon Cannon and VW Tiger Catapult, combine!"

The two Machines in front of him burst into their component piece began to fuse together into a new shape. It became a giant, thirty-foot-tall robot that was combination of all five Machines. Weapons could be found all over its thick, multicolored armor.

"Presenting my most powerful monster VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon!" Howard said, proudly. (3000/2800)

"Holy crap!" Kai said. "That is huge!"

"And since he removed two more monsters, he gains 1000 more life points." Musashi stated.

Yuna Kenshi (700) – Howard Pike (3950)

"Too bad, I can't attack this turn." Howard said. "I suppose we will just have to wait one more turn."

"Your move, Yuna."

Yuna closed her gaping mouth and recovered from her shock. That is quite a monster, bigger than anything that she has faced before. She didn't have a single card in her hand. _How am I going to take that thing done?  
_

"Remember Yuna," she heard Musashi say. "That thing has been defeated once before. Remember how the others did it and you can defeat it too."

_Of course! _Yuna realized. She smiled as she drew. "You know what they say: the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

_Nice card, but it won't be enough. _"I activate both of my facedown cards, Reckless Greed!" Two of the same trap cards rose up in front of her.

"With these two cards I will make four draws but then would have to skip my next two draw phases." Yuna quickly replenished her hand.

"Talk about a gamble," Kai said. "If Yuna doesn't get what she needs, next turn is really going to hurt."

Yuna looked over the five cards in her hand. _Okay…This is going to need a bit of luck…_

"I place five cards facedown," she stated firmly. Five facedown cards appeared in front of her.

"What the…?" Lance muttered. "Five cards facedown?"

"Calm down," Eliza said. "Yuna must have a plan."

"Or a big ass bluff!" Howard chuckled. "Do you think you can scare me away with all those facedown cards?"

"You drew, right?" Yuna asked.

"Yea." Howard responded. He drew another copy of his Frontline Base.

"Well, then I activate this trap card during your standby phase, Battle Mania!" Yuna revealed one of her trap cards.

"That card…" Musashi frowned. "I thought I told her to take that card out from her deck.

It's not very useful in most cases but of course it makes sure that ones of most deadly combos work."

"What is that card?" Kai asked. "I don't recognize it."

"One of the new cards she added," Musashi said. "It could only be activated at the standby phase. It forces the opponent to enter their battle phase."

"What would that do?" Lance wondered.

"Watch and see."

"So that was one of your traps. Still you use a lot of traps…so I should be careful." Howard said. "I activate the effect of my VWXYZ Dragon Catapult Cannon!" The robot aimed its multiple cannons at Yuna's facedown cards.

"Once per turn, it can remove one card from play." Howard rubbed his neck. "The only question is which one?

Kai turned to Musashi. "Do you really think Yuna has a special trap facedown?"

Musashi nodded. "Yuna knew that VWXYZ can get of one card so she played everything facedown in order to act as decoys. Knowing Yuna, the real trap could actually more than one card."

"How about that card right in front of you?" The card was instantaneous vaporized. Yuna took the card out of its slot and held it up so that all can see.

"I will chain this card, Reckless Greed." Yuna draw twice again.

Howard frowned. "I guess I miss the real trap."

"Remember, you must enter battle phase," Yuna reminded him.

"Right," he said. "I don't know what you are trying to do but you already used your Mirror Force and Widespread Ruins."

"VWXYZ Dragon Catapult Cannon! Attack directly! Mult-Phase Gamma Beam Cannon!" The twin cannons mounted on its shoulders aimed directly at Yuna. Particles of energy began to collect at the two nozzles.

"Go trap card! Limit Reverse!" Yuna cried. "With this trap card, I will bring back one monster with 1000 attack points or lower!" A winged furry creature returned to the field.

"Winged Kuriboh?" Howard laughed. "You brought back Winged Kuriboh! Did you not know that Limit Reverse brings back your monster in attack mode? So you will take damage with this attack!"

"VWXYZ! Fire!" The robot let loose its powerful charged laser. Winged Kuriboh flew up bravely to shield Yuna from the attack. The beam hit the pair was a long bang, causing smoke and dust to fill the air.

"Yuna!" Eliza cried.

"Come on where is her plan?" Kai said.

Suddenly two feathered wings erupted out of the smoke. Slowly at the smoke cleared, the others could see that Yuna was unharmed.

"Is that Winged Kuriboh?" Lance asked. Winged Kuriboh was now wearing a set of golden armor and had two large feathered wings.

Howard gasped "How did you do that?"

Yuna picked up a card, so that he could see. "Transcendent Wings. By tributing my Winged Kuriboh and discarding the two cards in my hand, I can special summon my Winged Kuriboh Lv10."

"Winged Kuriboh Lv10…" Howard muttered. "That card…Jaden Yuki used it against Chazz's VWXYZ as well. It can…"

"I guess you remember what it can do." Yuna smiled. "Since in your battle phase aren't you? Then I activate Winged Kuriboh Lv10's special ability!" The fairy began shimmering, turning into a brilliant sliver. Like a shooting star, it flew across the field, striking right through the gigantic machine. With a thunderous roar, the robot collapsed and was destroying in a series of explosions.

"By tributing Winged Kuriboh Lv10 while it is my opponent's battle phase, I can destroy all monsters on their side of the field and inflict damage equal to the sum of their original attack points," Yuna explained.

"In other words, you take 3000 point of damage!"

Howard watched as the Winged Kuriboh plummet towards him like a comet. He cried out as his life points took a sheer fall.

Yuna Kenshi (700) – Howard Pike (950)

Lance pumped his fist in the air. "Way to go, Yuna!"

"That was a pretty sick turn of events," Kai said. "I didn't expect a reverse like that."

Musashi chuckled. "That girl can surprise you."

"Wow…" Howard said, as he got back on his feet. "I can't believe you managed to pull that off. Taking down my ultimate monster…"

"I almost forgot that I could do that," Yuna smiled. "If I didn't remember Jaden's duel with Chazz, I would have lose this.

"Just because your monster is big and tall doesn't mean that it wouldn't fall. Even the smallest creatures can defeat large giants."

"Hmm, I got too cocky." Howard sighed. "I can do nothing now. I end my turn."

"Alright, now all Yuna has to do is summon a monster with enough attack to finish this." Eliza said.

"Did you forget?" Kai frowned. "She has no cards in her hand and Reckless Greed prevents her from drawing any cards."

"Oh right," Lance said. "Then she would have to give up this chance to win."

Yuna smiled. "Time to reveal my final facedown card." It rose up revealing a purple card with a red smiling jar on it.

"Jar of Greed allows me to draw one card." She reached over to her deck.

Howard smiled nervously, "I guess this battle will just come to this, a single draw…"

"Howard only has 950 life points left." Eliza said. "Almost any monster will finish this!"

"Heart of the Cards!" Kai shouted.

"Believe!" Musashi urged her on.

"Draw!" Yuna drew her card swiftly, holding it out so that everyone can see.

"I summon Silent Swordsman Lv 3!" The small warrior dressed in a blue suit and a silver sword marched onto the field. (1000/1000)

Howard groaned when he saw its attack points flash on the screen. "Finish it."

"Silent Swordsman! Direct attack!" The swordsman quickly darted forward and slashed down Howard's life points.

Yuna Kenshi (700) – Howard Pike (0)

Yuna smiled and held out her hand. "That was a great duel."

Howard chuckled. "You got guts, girl. You're bound to go far. I can't wait to see you in the finals."

_The finals…_ Kai thought._ I have to get there too. I have to find Leon Alastor…_

_

* * *

  
_

Rebecca Ven screamed as she hit the ground. He was too strong. In just one turn, her army of Harpies was obliterated. She groaned as she picked herself up. The duel had left her drained of her energy. Holding her throbbing head, she could see her opponent and his fearsome Armed Dragon Lv 10 on the other side.

The mysterious man waved his hand and his dragon disappeared. He seemed completely unaffected by the duel.

"Seems like I just defeated you, Eliminator…" he muttered before walking away.

Rebecca gritted her teeth and yelled after him. "You lucky bastard! I will take you down next time!"

The man stopped. "Next time…? I have no time to deal with wimps like you."

He turned around and though his face was still partly hidden, Rebecca could see the anger in his face. "There is only one person I need to deal with."

"Tell him, tell Leon Alastor…"

"That the Dragon Lord is coming for him."

* * *

Yep!

I just finished more than 10 chapters of my fanfic.

A pretty good job, even through it took longer than it should...

Anyway, i hope you readers find this story interesting... A new character the Dragon Lord is coming into play and the Leon Alastor's plan in slowing starting to be revealed.

But I don't know if you guys find it interesting because I am not getting reviews! I don't want to be begging for reviews but they are very important. How else would I know how to improve or if people understand the plot line.

Please review!

And stay tuned for the next chapter of my fanfic... Battle Tuned!


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